Golden Corridor Living Magazine

“THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY”

FALL 2015

Leadership Growth

Progress ARIZONA CIT Y • C A S A GR ANDE • COOLIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • MARICOPA

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“THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY”

FALL 2015

Leadership Growth

Progress

Contents Features:

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

Mayor Bob Jackson

ARIZONA CIT Y • C A S A GR ANDE • COOLIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • MARICOPA

The Access Arizona Pages

Women in Business

22 24 52

Economy & Local Business

Health, Wealth & Education

Travel, Dining & Entertainment

Our Future Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Teacher of the Year. . . . . . . . . . . 34

The Reluctant Adventurer. . . . 92

What’s Up Downtown . . . . . . . . 18

Financial Distress. . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Casa Grande is a Global Success Story. . . . . . . . . 28

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Stress 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Kickoff at the CG Art Museum . . . . 95

Make it Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

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Fall 2015

Blackbox is Back. . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Thought is the wind . . . . . . . . . 96 Fathead & Otis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Letter from the Editor

Fall in the Central Desert

T Bea Lueck

he Autumnal Equinox is September 23rd this year.

For the rest of the country, it heralds not only shorter days and longer nights but leaves turning brilliant colors and the weather turning cooler – in some locales much, much cooler. Not so here in the central desert! For the most part our trees remain the same year round and temperatures will still dance around the century mark for a few more days or [gasp] weeks. But that is one of the many things that attract the majority of us to the area – our fabulous weather! Soon we will be marking our own sign of the approaching winter – the return of the migrating Snow Birds.

Welcome Back Winter Visitors! We really do appreciate the many ways you benefit our community.

Fall also brings a number of area events and fundraisers. At the end of September we have both Viva Grande and the Silent Witness Anti-Crime Night – each with fun and entertainment for all ages in the community.

October brings HALLOWEEN in a new location. The Family Fright

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

Night takes place on Florence Street and Third Street in Downtown Casa Grande with the INAUGURAL ZOMBIE WALK. And what began with Golden Corridor LIVING’s 100 Year Celebration edition culminates with the 100 Year Anniversary Celebration on November 6th in the same location downtown.

Non-profit service organizations depend on donations and fundraisers to continue to provide much needed services to the community. If you have never attended the Against Abuse’s Taste of Casa Grande – get tickets before they sell out. Area restaurants and caterers vie to outdo each other with over-the-top food.

Zonta Club of Casa Grande Valley Annual Community Gala has the BEST wine tasting and it’s worth attending just for that – not to mention the beer garden, mocktails and fabulous food.

Both community events and fundraisers are all part of ways we come together to make our community a better place to live. Our common goal is to MAKE IT BETTER. And how

do we make it better? That is exactly what a group of civic leaders are strategizing to make happen.

Notice that word – leaders. This edition’s main theme is LEADERSHIP. That means many things to different people. Some leaders are very bold and visible. Others lead quietly from behind the scenes. Everything in this edition goes full circle – from service to leadership. This area is where we call home. We want our home to be the very best it can. Because – It’s About Local! I hope you enjoy the various thoughts, opinions and wisdoms on leadership.

And lastly… Politics. Love it or hate it, politics is one of those conversational topics that brings out the differing opinions. Over the next few editions, we will be bringing you some of those opinions. And if you want to share your thoughts – send me an email or pick up the phone and let’s talk.

–Bea

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VOICES PUBLISHER Elaine Earle, CPA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bea Lueck CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Susan Conn-Hood Harold Kitching ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE

of the

Community Bob Jackson

Born in Whitefish, Montana, Mayor Robert Jackson has lived in Casa Grande since 1991. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, holding a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He retired from the City of Casa Grande as Public Works Director in 2002 and is now serving his fourth term as mayor ending in 2015.

Melissa Wolf CREATIVE DIRECTOR/GRAPHIC DESIGN Tim Clarke GRAPHIC DESIGN Kyle Bogan CHIEF OF OPERATIONS & FINANCE Elaine Earle, CPA ADVERTISING INQUIRIES info@raxxdirect.com COMMENTS & IDEAS editor@raxxdirect.com

Helen Neuharth

Helen was hired as the President/CEO of the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce in August 1991 and is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organizational Management from Boulder, Colorado.

Helen is an active member of the Arizona Chamber Executives

Donna McBride

Donna McBride is the Program Administrator/Public Information Officer and Supervisor for the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Unit for Pinal County Juvenile Court. She is actively involved as a Board Member for Casa Grande Alliance, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, BlackBox Foundation, Mayor’s Reading Program, Pinal County Town Hall Vice-Chair, Parks and Block Watch Captain for the Casa Grande Police Department.

CALENDAR INQUIRES calendar@raxxdirect.com (520) 426-2074 442 W. Kortsen Rd, Ste 101 Casa Grande, AZ 85122

Harold Kitching

Harold has worked for newspapers across the country. He was city government reporter for the Casa Grande Dispatch for 11 years until he resigned after the newspaper began downplaying local news.

Jim Dinkle Golden Corridor LIVING is published by RAXX Media. Editorial content is provided by affiliates of RAXX Media, community members and local organizations.

The publishers of Golden Corridor LIVING assume no responsibility for errors or omissions of any advertisement beyond the actual cost of the advertisement. In no event shall the publishers be liable for any consequential damages in excess of the cost of the advertisement. Golden Corridor LIVING shall not be liable for inaccuracies, errors, omissions, or damages from the use of information contained herein. Submitted articles do not reflect the opinions of the owners or management of Golden Corridor LIVING Information contained within submitted articles had not been verified for accuracy and readers are responsible for forming their own opinions. Real CORRID OR ING FA L Lis20 15 8 GOLDEN estate information is asLIofV 9-9-15 and subject to current availability and pricing.

Jim is currently the director of the Access Arizona, the area’s regional economic development foundation.

He came to Arizona as a 24 year veteran of economic development from Indiana.

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

GOLDEN CORRIDOR BUSINESS INDEX 100

Academy Mortgage - CG

25

Access Arizona

71

Against Abuse

81

Agave Dentistry

19

American Family Ins-Hobbs

19

Annie-Mac Home Mortgage

29

Arizona Commerce Authority

31

Banner / CGRMC

83

Blackbox Foundation

77

Branham’s Exterminating

37

Brutinel

85

Capital R Construction

21

Casa Grande Alliance

33

Casa Grande Elementary

85

Casa Grande Family Dentistry

32

Casa Grande Union High School District

35

Central Arizona College

72-73 Coldwell Banker ROX Realty 79

Coldwell Banker ROX Realty Agents

87

Coldwell Banker ROX Realty Property Management

63

Coldwell Banker ROX Realty Recruiting

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

3

Coldwell Banker ROX Realty Why List

51

Cottonwood Medical Center

51

Desert Sky Dental

2

Dick & Mitchell DDS

97

DM Family Dentistry

77

Farmers Insurance - Bryant

41

Fitzgibbons Law Offices

51

Five Star Carpet Cleaning

39

Foothills Bank

78

Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce

5

Heritage Motors

19

Jenkins Chiropractic

91

Mankel Mechanical

4

Phoenix Patio Systems

89

Premier Ortho

88

Seeds of Hope

99

Silent Witness

82

Star Towing

42-43 Sun Life Family Health Center 35

Title Security

91

Yang and Horsley Dentistry

67

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City of Casa Grande Community Services Department and Casa Grande Main Street Presents:

FAMILY FRIGHT NIGHT! Saturday, October 31, 2015 Historic Downtown Florence Street 6:00-9:00 P.M. INAUGURAL ZOMBIE WALK WALK starts in the ZOMBIE ZONE

PEO

(Southwest Corner of Florence Street & 3rd Street) Zombie Zone opens at 5:30 P.M.

PLE

”S C

CAS

H PR

IZE HOI !!!

CE for B EST ZOM BI

E

Zombie Walk Time: 6:30 P.M.

ALSO FEATURING: MONSTER MASH in the ALLEY! COSTUME CONTESTS! ENTERTAINMENT! FREE GAME BOOTHS! FREE CANDY! FOOD BOOTHS! CRAFT ZONE!

For more information, please call (520) 421-8677 10 10 GOLDEN CORRID OR LI V ING FA L L 20 15

To contact Casa Grande Smart Shopper Call 520-426-2074

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

September-November 2015 SEPTEMBER

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Viva Grande, Celebrate...

Grande Style!! Time: 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM Paul Mason - 2525 N. Pinal Ave., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

29

18

Arizona Days/Skydive Arizona Skydive Arizona-4900 N. Taylor Road, Eloy, AZ 85132

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30

19

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Robson’s Got Talent Time: 7:00 PM Robson Ranch -5687 Robson Blvd., Eloy, AZ 85131 5th Annual Senior Resource Expo Time: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM,510 E. 8th St/The Garnet, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 Big House Music Festival 2015 Paul Mason - 2525 N. Pinal Ave., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

Hiring Event - Correctional Officers Time: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM AZ Workforce-1015 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

Improv Comedy Showcase Time: 7:00 PM BlackBox-413 N. Florence St., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

OCTOBER

2

The Backyard Market Casa Grande Time: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM Herbalicious-423 N. Florence St., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

2

Downtown Street SceneOctoberfest Time: 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM Downtown-3rd St. & Florence St., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

10

Ghost Tours @ The Museum Time: 7:00 PM The Museum - 110 W. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

Central Arizona Speedway Time: 7:00 PM Central AZ Speedway-512 Eleven Mile Corner, Casa Grande, AZ 85194

Silent Witness Anti-Crime Night Time: 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM Vista Grande High School-1556 N. Arizola Rd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

ADEQ (AZ Dept. Of Environmental Quality) Workshop Time: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Parks & Rec. - 404 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

Add Your Event to the Community Calendar! goldencorridorliving.com/calendar

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CG Chamber 24th Annual Business Showcase Time: 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM The Property-1251 W. Gila Bend Hwy., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

Honoring our Viet Nam Veterans – BBQ Time: 3:00 PM American Legion Coolidge-408 N. Main St., Coolidge, AZ 85128

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Casa Grande Invitational Gymnastics Meet Time: 2:00 PM Vista Grande High School-1556 N. Arizola Rd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

Taste of Casa Grande 29th Annual Time: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM The Property - 1251 W. Gila Bend Hwy., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

28th Annual Pinal County Town Hall 32375 N Gantzel Rd., San Tan Valley, AZ 85143

FAMILY FRIGHT NIGHT! 6:00-9:00 P.M. Historic Downtown Florence Street Esteban @ Robson Time: 7:00 PM Robson Ranch-5687 Robson Blvd., Eloy, AZ 8513

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The Grande Fest Time: 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM 2300 E. Tanger Dr., Casa Grande, AZ 8512

NOVEMBER

6

With Her Voice Time: 7:00 PM BlackBox-413 N. Florence St., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

6

Downtown Street Scene-CG 100 Anniversary Celebration Time: 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM Downtown-3rd St. & Florence St., Casa Grande, AZ 85122

6

CG Chamber Annual Fall Golf Tournament Time: 8:00 AM Francisco Grande-12684 W. Gila Bend Hwy., Casa Grande, AZ 85193

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Zonta’s 2015 Community Gala TBA 1251 W. Gila Bend Hwy.-The Property Conference Center, Casa Grande, AZ 85122

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Casa Grande Studio Tours to Sunday

The City of Casa Grande, Parks and Recreation Department is accepting entries for the

21st Annual Electric Light Parade scheduled for Saturday, December 5 at 5:45 p.m.

The early deadline to enter is Friday, October 2, 2015. All entries submitted by this date will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card. Final deadline to submit your entry application is Wednesday, October 21, 2015 For further information, or to have a form sent to you, please contact Casa Grande Parks and Recreation Department at (520) 421-8677 or email us at parksrecreg@casagrandeaz.gov.

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

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The Casa Grande H

• A RIZONA CIT Y • CASA GR ANDE • COOLIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • M A RICOPA • A RIZONA CIT Y • CASA GR ANDE • COOL

Internet Safe Zones

CG News

B

by Harold Kitching

cgnews-info.webs.com or www.haroldkitching.com

Alarming Changes Coming

C

asa Grande is tightening its oversight of alarm systems throughout the city, hiring a company that specializes in tracking who pays and who doesn’t, who is registered and who isn’t, false alarms reporting and other day to day details.

The move is partly to have a smoother operation and partly because the present system of tracking by the Police Department and billing by the Finance Department has not worked well and on at least one occasion failed miserably.

The contract, approved by the City Council, is with Public Service Corp., through its program called CryWolf.

Under the agreement, PSC would retain 55 percent of revenue, with the city taking 45 percent, or about $25,000 a year.

According to Interim Police Services Manager (acting police chief) Chris Vasquez the move is “to basically take over almost the entire false alarms program duties from both Finance and the

12

Police Department. They will become consolidated into the CryWolf program where from an internet-based program a subscriber can be educated; they’ll be able to pay their annual fee on line and if they have any fees related to a false alarm that would be paid on-line as well.

“Part of the program is in lieu of paying the false alarm fee, an alarm user may take a class. So instead of us holding classes at the PD they can now be done on-line at the convenience of the alarm user, so they don’t have to leave their home, they can get it done much quicker, much safer and cheaper, actually.

“And part of our hopes is to improve services to the citizen, to the alarm user, in that we would have a faster turnaround from time of the alarm, should it be their third time or a false alarm that requires they are charged a fee where they are notified of that fee, versus how it has been done in the past where we dropped the ball, where it’s

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been weeks, months or sometimes a year later they finally get a bill for a false alarm. With this [system] it will make it more efficient where we reduce that time - hopefully within less than a week, to get that notification out.”

The system of determining false alarms needs to be refined, Councilman Dick Powell — who voted against the contract — said.

“Most of the time if my (business) alarm goes off, somebody was kicking the door or rattling trying to get in. But how do I prove that? Somebody does that two or three times and then I’m jeopardized (for false alarm fees) to whether I can even have an alarm anymore.”

Vasquez responded that, “One thing we want to do - as part of these officers’ working and training, is set up a policy with the officers that if they respond and the alarm user also responds at the

continued on page 14...

uying and selling over the internet can be fast, convenient — and sometimes deadly.

As Police Advisory Board Chairman Mikel McBride pointed out the last meeting, “Since 2009, of the people who purchased things off Craig’s List, there have been 45 of them killed. And this is when, say, I’m going to buy a car from you, meet over here. I’ve got this cherry 1965 Mustang I’m selling for $7,000, meet me at the parking lot. People show up with $7,000 [cash] and they end up dead over it - and the guy drives away.

“People have been killed over iPhones; they’ve been killed over all kinds of things. This is throughout the whole U.S.” To combat this, McBride proposed that the Casa Grande Police Department set up an Internet Purchase Safe Zone in its main parking lot, an area covered by video surveillance 24 hours a day.

Interim Police Services Manager (acting chief) Chris Vasquez was receptive to the idea, pointing out that the parking lot and lobby are already used for such things as divorced parents exchanging children after visits.

“When you first hear it, Internet Purchase Safe Zone, it sounds like it’s just a bunch of words together,” McBride said, “but when you think about it, it’s very, very good for the community and good for everybody out there.

“You tell the person, you want to sell me your car, I’ll meet you right in front of the Police Department. Most bad guys don’t really want to stand in front of the Police Department and transact business.”

Although a police officer would not come out to the parking lot and monitor the transaction, McBride said, “one of the things we have going for us out there (at PD) is Monday through Friday in the daytime, if something goes wrong the person just walks in the door, we normally have someone to greet them there.

And if it’s after hours, you walk in the door and there’s a telephone there that THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Herald

Local News from Golden Corridor Living Magazine

ALL THE NEWS WE THINK IS FIT TO PRINT!

LIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • M A RICOPA • A RIZONA CIT Y • CASA GR ANDE • COOLIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • M A RICOPA •

Can You Hear Me Now?

B

etter Verizon cell phone service, especially for data, is expected in the area around Cactus Middle School on Kortsen Road.

The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a request from the elementary school district for a conditional use permit and an amendment to the school area site plan to allow an 80-foot-tall cell tower on the northeast side of the property.

The primary large antenna array, to be leased to Verizon, would be at the top of the monopole, which will be designed for the future colocation of a second antenna array below that to accommodate another carrier.

Some other cell towers in Casa Grande have been disguised as palm trees or other vegetation, but in this case that wouldn’t really work, the staff report says.

“In discussing the possibility of erecting a stealth structure, the applicant contended that due to the width of the array needed for this tower for cellular data transmission, methods to disguise it become problematic. The array consists of three 7.5-feet-wide

panels at the top of the monopole. A structure designed to encase this would result in an even larger structure, potentially more ostentatious than the tower itself. The location of this tower is in a remote area, which would render various stealth options out of place.”

The undeveloped The Muirlands planned area development, now being farmed, is 270 feet east of the proposed tower. The staff report said the owner had concerns that the height of the tower might discourage lot sales when The Muirlands is finally developed.

“Because future potential development will bring more density closer to the tower,” the staff report continues, “it shall be a condition that this con-

Internet Safe Zones (continued) they can call the dispatcher.”

Aside from posting signs in the parking lot, McBride said, “It’s free. It doesn’t cost anything other than us to put on the (city) webpage, which doesn’t cost us anything.”

McBride said his research found police departments in the East, in southern Colorado and California using such a program, but “from all I can read, no one in Arizona does it yet.”

Vasquez responded, “I think it’s an excellent idea.

“Besides Craig’s List, locally on Facebook you’ve got Casa Grande Buy, Sell, Trade, and there are others around, a lot THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

of bartering like some of the Craig’s List goes back and forth.

“There has been even in Casa Grande, not violent crimes, but there have been issues where things have happened where someone would show up and things get stolen or a crime has been committed because of it. Fortunately, we haven’t had a rape or a homicide.”

Vasquez said the department could post information on the city website and on Facebook and Twitter explaining the program. McBride pointed out that Craig’s List has an area on pages listing locations of safe zones.

Vasquez added, “I’ll get with Thomas

ditional use permit shall expire after five years. This allows the city staff and Planning Commission to reevaluate the tower after five years, when The Muirlands may be developing to explore alternatives at that time.

“As this area of the city devel-

ops, tower height can potentially be lower. This is due to the fact that a low density area requires an antenna at a greater height to reach further. When there is greater density, the antenna can be lower to serve a closer and denser area.”

Verizon already has a program throughout the city of smaller units to improve coverage.

The question of who would pay for taking down the tall tower in that case would have to be part of the agreement with the school district, the commission was told.

Adam Brixius of Pinnacle Consulting told CG News that construction is expected to begin during the final quarter of this year but could extend into the first quarter of 2016.

A Whale of a Tale - A fish story that’s true.

T

he City Council approved a fouryear agreement between Casa Grande and the Arizona Department of Game and Fish for major stocking of fish in the lake at Dave White Regional Park.

Casa Grande will join 16 cities around

the state, including the city of Maricopa, which has the program in operation for Copper Sky Lake and Pacana Pond.

The Dave White Lake is now stocked only once a year, just before the annual

Anderson (the department’s public information officer) and we’ll see if we can get something started to advertise this.

“As far as getting the word out, we are having a lot of success through our Facebook page and Twitter. If you look at our Facebook page, we quite frequently will put pictures of suspects, whether it is shoplifting or whatever on there and we get a lot of tips, we really do, and we have literally solved some crimes by just putting the information out on the Facebook page. And we know people are looking and are responding to it.

“I know we can get the word out that we’re going to have this type of service.

I think we’ll be successful in getting the word out.”

McBride said he did not know if the legalities of such a program needed to be studied by the city attorney, adding that, “I can’t see any; it’s in the parking lot that has public access.”

Vasquez responded that, “We do stuff like that now in our parking lot. It is used, even our lobby when we’re open, when people make exchanges with their children. Rather than doing it like in a Fry’s parking lot or Circle K parking lot, they’ll come to our parking lot quite regularly.

And they don’t even involve us, they just do it. They just show up and exchange their children and go on their way.

They’re either out in the parking lot or they’ll come in the lobby and make the exchange. It’s the same principle.”

continued on page 14...

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CG News

CONTINUED…

ALARMING CHANGES...cont. from page 12 same time, when that officer walks away the alarm user will know if it’s going to be a false alarm or not — at that time, that night when it happens.

“If for some reason an alarm user does not respond, then we’re going to come up with a system where a notice is left on the door to where when you come to work the next day it’s going to tell you if it’s a false alarm or not a false alarm. So you’ll know then, at that time.

“We’re also going to try to educate the officers and work with them to really take into account the different reasons why these alarms are being set off, to take into account Mother Nature, animals, looking to see if there’s a boot print on the door, a print on the window, stuff like that.”

Powell also pointed out that, “We’ve run into a deal, which you’re fully aware, where some of the claims are two years old and the people they were against didn’t even know they had notices for false alarms. So obviously that wasn’t timely.

“The only thing that really works is if you can notify somebody with an alarm

TRUE FISH STORY ...cont. from page 13 Catfish Rodeo.

Under the agreement, the Game and Fish regular stocking program will include: • Catchable rainbow trout in December and February.

• Channel catfish in October, April and June.

• Sunfish (usually bluegill or redear) at least once annually.

• Other approved fish species, the agreement says, “may be stocked as necessary to: 1) establish a resident fish population, 2) augment existing fish populations, 3) maintain a balanced fishery, 4) improve angler success rates, or 5) provide feature species for anglers.”

In addition to the stocking, Game and Fish will provide license information, periodic lake assessment reports, fishing information signs, periodic angler surveys and various support and technical

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within 24 hours. Because if there’s a boot print on that door, if there’s something that you can call a policeman back and say ‘look you were here, obviously somebody kicked this door, somebody did this or that in the night. Come look and say, you know, it was a false alarm.’ Sometimes we don’t know what they’re going to say until they get back there and if we don’t know that until it goes to them or gets sent to them and they’re trying to hit us with collection, they’re pretty heavy handed with the way they deal with the people in the community.”

Lt. Frank Alanis, commander of the Police Department’s Special Operations Division, responded that, “It’s just efficiency. Right now, whenever an alarm does happen, the officers go out there to respond, they make a decision as far as whether it’s a false alarm or it’s legit, and then call the owner up.

“But the thing is, once the call’s into the system, into our computer-aided dispatch system, you have to do a hand search the next day and actually see what happened that day and figure out if that was a false alarm or not. So it’s very time

consuming, along with the efficiency of the billings.

“PSC/CryWolf, they take care of all that. They’ll have a direct link into our computer system so that they can identify these calls and get us a printout in the morning. We should be able to address these issues you’re talking about.”

Alanis said he couldn’t at this time promise a response within 24 hours, but the time would be much shorter than it is now.

Powell pointed out that the CryWolf presentation says four companies would be linked to each system.

“I’ve got a company I’ve been working with for 25 years,” he said. “There are going to be three other companies I’m going to be working with on that same system, is that what that’s saying?”

Alanis replied that, “Basically, what this company does is they have contracts with other alarm companies, like say, your major commercial types. They work with them, so when they’re talking about consolidating those four tracks it’s basically saying we work in partnerships with these companies. If there’s one out there

they’re not familiar with they can go out there and contact them and get something going with them.”

Users are still free to select their own alarm company, Alanis added, and fees remain the same.

Answering a question from Powell, Finance Director Doug Sandstrom said income from alarms last year was between $26,000 to $30,000.

Powell pointed out that PSC/CryWolf claims it can boost that revenue to about $53,000 a year.

“Couldn’t the city do that itself through some better oversight”,he asked.

“That probably wouldn’t be true,” Alanis responded.

“It’s just more efficient,” he said.

“We’ve had in the past problems where one individual kept track of everything, working between the Police Department and Finance. We’ve had issues where it just hasn’t been managed properly. They (PSC/CryWolf) have an efficient system to keep track of billings, who’s supposed to pay and who’s not supposed to pay, and where are the payments are supposed to come in.”

assistance.

The agreement with Casa Grande does not say what catch limits will be in effect, but Game and Fish postings for the other cities show, depending upon species stocked in the lake daily catch and possession limits of: • Four catfish • Four trout • Two 13-inch minimum bass • 10 sunfish • One 30-inch minimum white amur.

• State limits would apply for other species.

partment Director Bill Schwind told the council, “and in communication recently with Arizona Game and Fish we had an opportunity to join their community fishing program that will allow us now to stock the lake on a quarterly basis. We will provide more fishing opportunities for the anglers out at Dave White.”

Mayor Bob Jackson said, “I was surprised to see the type of fish. I know I always thought it was ‘catch ‘em and throw ‘em back’ but apparently they’re trying to get out of the mode now.”

The agreement was under the consent agenda, which is items to be passed on one vote without discussion, but Councilman Karl Montoya asked that it be pulled.

“I brought this up just so we could get the word out of what we’re trying to do,” Montoya said. “I think this program has had great success all across Arizona in different communities in not only bringing a fishing opportunity, but what we kind of preach up here (on the council) is bringing family values back closer to

people, who can go out there with their kids and share some time fishing. It’s a great opportunity to get families together and share those bonds. I think it’s a great opportunity.”

Montoya, noting the lower cost, asked if the city had ever considered expanding the lake. “A one-acre pond is kind of small but it would be great to see that expand in the future,” he said.

City Manager Jim Thompson responded that, “In our plans for the reclamation facility associated with the wastewater treatment plant it is to expand that lake operation, probably about three times its current size, expand it out potentially even larger depending on what our final footprint will look like for our various interactive parks that we plan on putting out next to that location.

It would allow us that opportunity to expand that operation.”

The program cost is based upon acre size of the lake or pond, with the one at Dave White being nine-tenths of an acre, or for calculation purposes one acre. That would be a yearly cost to the city of $416 for this 2016 fiscal year and next, rising to $425 in fiscal years ‘18 and ‘19.

The city has been paying $1,400 for the spring stocking.

“As you know, we host an annual Catfish Rodeo,” Community Services De-

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

CG News

Paramount Appeal H

earing of an appeal by Debra Martin, owner of the Paramount Theatre, over a city requirement for a right of way encroachment permit for air conditioning equipment and a fence in the small alley at the theatre property has been held over until the Sept. 15 Board of Adjustment meeting.

Martin, who contends that when she bought the theatre properties years ago there was nothing in the title report that indicated it was not her alley, told the board during its Aug. 25 meeting that she has turned the entire matter over to the title company, which she said has promised the results of an investigation by the end of this month. She said she also has asked the city if a previous owner had ever been granted such a permit but was told that the city couldn’t answer that question.

The board was told that an encroachment permit would cost Martin $30. She has instead chosen to contest the issue.

The property in question is a partial alley between buildings facing Florence Street, running off of the north/south alley behind the Paramount.

According to the city, when code enforcement went to the area after the adjoining Ale House was applying for a right of way encroachment permit, “staff discovered other existing improvements that are located in the public ROW. There is an existing gated chain link fence (the lock belongs to Deborah Martin), a condenser and other materials THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

located behind the fence.”

The report continues that, “Once staff realized that the air conditioner and fence was constructed within a public alley efforts were made to contact Ms. Martin regarding the need to apply for a rightof-way encroachment permit. Because the permit was not applied for, staff asked Code Enforcement to follow up on this issue. Code Enforcement Specialist Jeff Palmer issued a code violation notice and order letter on July 20, 2015.”

Martin filed a notice of appeal.

Addressing the board briefly, Martin said, “First, I was told — I hate to say this, accused — that I installed air conditioning system and a fence in the right of way, and I didn’t do it. I bought it in this condition. And it was done years ago.

“After I appealed, I turned in a claim to the title company and so they are investigating to see what happened in the past exactly, what is that and so forth, so I just have to wait until I get an answer from them. They said it’d take 30 days. It was assigned to a senior claims [investigator] on the 31st of July. So it would be 30 days before we heard anything from them, they told us.

“The thing of it is, we don’t even know if — and I’ve asked city — there was already (a permit) filed for it or not. And that’s what the title company’s searching for.”

Planning and Development Director Paul Tice told the board that staff had no objections to a delay until the title company report is available.

“In fact,” he continued, “we probably would say that it might be very beneficial for us to understand what the title company research turns up, because as you’ll hear when we make a full recommendation to the board, things are a little cloudy down here in this area of downtown. The original plat was from 1890, so the property records are really old down there. So it probably would be beneficial for all of us to just understand what the title company’s research shows up.”

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Casa Grande Annual Update

by Robert “Bob” Jackson, Mayor, Casa Grande

W We are developing a reputation as a good community to work with and generally are very successful when competing with Arizona communities.

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e finished our fiscal year on June 30 so I thought it might be a good time to update everybody on some of the projects that are taking place in Casa Grande. The past twelve months seem to show an improving local economy and we are starting to see some of our work on the economic development front show some tangible results.

One of the biggest successes was the decision by Tractor Supply Company to locate their southwestern distribution center in Casa Grande. As I write this in mid August, the Center is essentially complete and expected to start operation this fall. It will employ an estimated 270 people.

In addition to the Distribution Center, Tractor Supply is also planning to open a retail center on Florence Blvd west of L.A. Fitness in September.

The decision by Tractor Supply has really called attention to Casa Grande as an ideal location for new industries and we are currently working with several new companies that are looking to expand into the southwest. Our primary competition is generally the west valley area of Phoenix, Utah, southern Nevada, New Mexico and west Texas. We are developing a reputation as a good community to work with and generally are very successful when competing with Arizona communities. The economic development business is highly competitive and every state offers different incentives to relocate companies to their region.

The Promenade Mall has also seen some activity during the past year. Beall’s and a new Party & Cake Depot stores have opened in the section near Michael’s, a new Krispy Kreme doughnuts opened, a Buffalo Wild Wings is under construction and expected to be open in September. Planned to start in the next few months is a McDonalds between Olive Garden and Mimi’s.

Several other businesses have either opened or will open soon. These include Raising Cane’s Chicken, a Taco Bell on Pinal Avenue, a new Circle K on McCartney Road and I 10, a Valero Gas Station on Florence Blvd. and several businesses in the shopping center on the northwest corner of Rodeo and Trekell.

Some of the approved developments that should start soon are a mixed use development on the southeast corner of Rodeo and Trekell that will include several varieties of Senior Living facilities; a new restaurant, Boston Pizza lo-

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cated east of the Holiday Inn Express on Florence Blvd and two new industrial businesses located out near the Tractor Supply Distribution Center west of town.

The most talked about local project is the PhoenixMart development. It continues to move forward. It is a large undertaking that will require several infrastructure improvements and is being financed by a method not commonly used in Arizona. In August they started pouring footings for the 1.8 million square foot building (more than twice the size of the WalMart Distribution Center).

There are over 300 footings to be poured. It will be followed by pouring the slab and installation of the under slab utilities and finally the walls. Their current time schedule calls for completion in 2016.

The City has plans to install a sewer line to serve PhoenixMart, with the developer paying about half the cost (based on their anticipated use) and the City paying the remainder out of development impact fees to accommodate future growth on the east side of I-10.

Other City projects anticipated during the upcoming fiscal year include an upgrade to our Police and Fire Computer Aided Dispatch system. The current system is over ten years old and is being replaced to accommodate new technologies.

While the project will be largely invisible to most of our residents it will improve the response capability of our Public Safety personnel.

The other major project is the Community Recreation Center. The Council recently approved a contract with a company to develop preliminary plans for the proposed Center including a site plan and final cost estimate. This is the final project approved by the voters in 2006. Some of the discussions currently underway include: should there be a fitness center since there are other alternatives locally, should we include an aquatics feature that is costly to install and operate and finally where is the most favorable location.

The City received a donation of land from the Gilbert Family south of Kortsen Road on the west side of Peart. The donation of the 10 acres is a substantial savings if we don’t have to buy a site. Hopefully we can move forward with the final design and construction early next year.

There is lots going on in Casa Grande - let’s keep up the momentum!

CITY

SPEAK

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Economy • Local Business

Our Future Leaders - where are they? Right here!

by Helen Neuharth, President/CEO, Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce

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ast September, I wrote an article relating to leadership for this publication. I want to reiterate what I wrote last year because I do believe that people of all ages have leadership abilities, it is just a matter of how each individual develops his or her leadership ability.

The members of the Chamber Board of Directors and I have been discussing leadership development, not only within the Chamber but also throughout our community. Are we, as a community, doing enough to develop our future leaders? What are we doing to help encourage leaders?

It seems every generation has a label. I am of the generation labeled “Baby Boomer”, which is just fine with me. Our community is made up of all types of generations. Let me recap for you: • • • • • • • •

1890-1915: The Lost Generation The Generation of 1914 1901-1913: The Interbellum Generation 1910-1925: The Greatest Generation 1923 – 1944: The Silent Generation 1945 – 1964: Baby Boomer Generation 1961-1981: Generation X 1975-1995: Generation Y The Millennials - Gen Next 1995-2015: Generation Z

(Source: The Generations* What Generation are You? By Michael T. Robinson) For definitions for these generations visit: www.careerplanner.com/ Career-Articles/Generations.cfm This past May, I met with a group of “Millennials” (between the ages of 20-40), to get their perspectives on leadership and involvement in the community, since Millennials make up a large part of the workforce. Some excellent points that resulted from that conversation include: (1) the use of technology as the most effective way to communicate, and generate interest and involvement in an organization, especially for those people in the Millennial Generation (2)

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A sense among the Millennials is that leadership opportunities and roles are extended to them by invitation only. (3) The message of the importance of community involvement and leadership must be made more significant to the management/ownership levels of businesses. The message about leadership isn’t getting to the top of the management ladder. There are Millennials who would like to get more involved in our community while representing their employers but their management team must agree before they can proceed.

The Millennials also stated the need to know what their time commitments would be, whether it is attending meetings, serving on boards or taking on leadership roles. It is important to them to identify the purpose of an organization or business before a commitment can be made to a cause or before they step into a leadership role. Basically, we have Millennials in our community who are willing to lead but we must address these concerns before they can commit to an organization.

Since meeting with the Millennials, I have met individually with representatives from community organizations and businesses to find out what others are doing to foster leadership and involvement in their organization or business. I found that most of us are in the ‘same boat’-- not doing enough to foster our future leaders.

I have been asked to address this question, for this issue on Leadership: What makes the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce a leader in our community?

First organized in 1920 and incorporated in 1935, the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce has advocated for business growth and sustainability and has been a contributing and valuable organization and resource for more than 85 years. The business support of the Chamber, through annual membership, has grown from the five individuals in 1920 to more than 500 businesses in 2015.

The Chamber has been the leading orga-

nization in a number of ‘spin-off’ organizations and groups. The Casa Grande Valley Economic Development Foundation, now AccessArizona™, was an offshoot of a committee of Chamber business-members; O’Odham Tash was housed for many years in one of the offices of the Chamber; as was Casa Grande Main Street when they were incorporated. Welcome back Winter Visitors became Winter Celebration with the Chamber coordinating a specific calendar of events for the months of January through April of each year. The Chamber has collected information about various events that take place in Casa Grande which was expanded into the Casa Grande Community Calendar, and made available in print and on the Chamber’s website, www.casagrandechamber.org.

Recognizing business and community leaders through annual business and community-service leadership awards began through the Chamber in 1991 and continues on today.

In the last issue of Golden Corridor LIVING Magazine, you read how the Chamber even loaned the City the funds to complete construction of the city swimming pool in 1946; the Chamber played an important role in helping to raise the funds needed to give the San Francisco Giants clear deed to 160 acres of land for the construction of their Minor League training base in Casa Grande. In 1992, through the leadership of the Chamber, Casa Grande 2000 was established in support of education.

The information we have gathered about ways to develop local leadership can be summed up in one phrase: ‘Leaders not only motivate others but must also be motivated’.

So I am asking you, what do you have to offer as we work together to develop leadership in our community?

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Page Casa Article Grande Main Street

Kicking off the Fall Season!

by Rina Rien, Director, Casa Grande Main Street

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s most of us reach our breaking point with monsoon storms and air-conditioning induced lethargy, take heart in knowing fall is just around the corner with outdoor fun just about every week planned for your historic downtown. Here are some old favorites and new twists you can look forward to as our season kicks off in October: As a result of community forums held this summer combined with online survey feedback over the past few years, the Main Street Board voted to move our monthly Street Scene from First Tuesday to First Friday. Overwhelming support in the community suggests we will have an opportunity to expand our audience, sponsorship and partnership opportunities.

First Friday “Street Scene” kicks off October 2nd with an encore of “Oktoberfest”.

Traditional music, an authentic biergarten and street food will be featured starting at 5:30 p.m. on Historic Florence Street downtown. As always, this event is free to attend and will continue to include guest exhibitors, a community car show and “Live! in the Alley” open mic on the alley stage. Come dressed to impress in your lederhosen and we’ll show our appreciation for your enthusiasm with impromptu prizes!

Main Street will partner with the City of Casa Grande to bring the Annual Halloween Carnival to our downtown streets on October 31st.

November 6th, we will partner once again with the City of

Casa Grande to present the official 100th Anniversary Celebration at Street Scene.

Second Saturdays @ The Museum continue with interactive family activities during the day and evening events. Special events in the fall include the return of “Ghost Tours” October 10th and “Hot Wings for History” November 7th. Contact The Museum of Casa Grande at 520-836-2223 for more details or visit www.tmocg.org.

Third Tuesday “Day Out Downtown” will continue to feature historical walking tours staged from our Main Street Patio starting at 9:30 a.m. and a Merchant Scavenger Hunt where you can compete for prizes. Plans are in the works for afternoon wine-tasting, storytelling, music and craft demonstrations by local talent

and community groups. Should you be interested in having your group or talents showcased during our event, please contact me immediately for more information.

Mark your calendars for January 16th and 17th, 2016 for the 16th Annual Historic Downtown Street Fair and Car Show. Our signature downtown event attracts hundreds of artisans, vendors and classic cars with last year’s crowds filling eight city blocks! The initial call for exhibitors is out and we are anticipating another record year. Visit the Street Fair section of our website for information to reserve your space or contact our office for sponsorship opportunities.

If you are looking to get involved in your community, please consider joining our “Main Street Mob” or sponsor-

ing one of these free community events. Our season would not be possible without the tireless efforts of our volunteers and financial support from businesses dedicated to giving back to our community. Casa Grande Main Street is a non-profit organization designed to improve all aspects of the downtown experience. Strengthening public participation and making downtown a fun place to visit are as critical to Main Street’s future as drawing new business, rehabilitating structures and expanding parking options.

You can find all the latest information for ongoing events and more by checking out our website at www.cgmainstreet.org. Click on our Facebook link to stay connected and “like” our page for impromptu announcements.

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Casa Grande Alliance

Developing Youth Leadership

by Anesia Estrada, Prevention Specialist, Casa Grande Alliance SADD has contributed to the community by correcting misperceptions on drug and alcohol use among youth…

MOST teens chose to live positive lifestyles.

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C

asa Grande is a community full of leaders and many of our future leaders are currently in early development. In 2008, a SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) chapter was established on the Casa Grande Union High School campus; weekly attendance was 10 students. SADD is a peer-to-peer youth education and prevention organization. Fast forward to 2015; Casa Grande now has four SADD chapters, one located at each of the following high schools: Casa Grande Union, Vista Grande, and Mission Heights Preparatory. There is also one chapter located at Casa Grande Middle School. Our community has gone from one SADD chapter with 10 student members to four SADD chapters, known as Casa Grande SADD, with over 180 student members.

“Being in the Vista Grande SADD chapter has helped me identify with ways to help out the community and meet new people. Casa Grande SADD is a vast network of students who are striving to make a difference on our campuses and in our community. I have been able to meet other youth in our community who share my interest in helping others and creating a better community.” SADD member, Jordan Pierce.

In the early years of SADD, students primarily focused on underage drinking and binge drinking. Now, students focus on items that they feel are affecting their campus and community.

One major change since the inception

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of SADD in Casa Grande is how the members present their message to their peers. In 2012, SADD started a social norming campaign called M.O.S.T. (Making Our Students Think).

On the peer-to-peer level, it lets students know they do not need to drink or do drugs to ‘fit in’ because the majority of students do not.

“SADD has contributed to the community by correcting misperceptions on drug and alcohol use among youth…MOST teens chose to live positive lifestyles. By engagement and interaction between SADD and community members of all ages, we are able to educate and help others follow the right path needed to live a happy and healthy life.” SADD member, Ashlyn Alvarado.

Casa Grande SADD chapters are a part of the Casa Grande Alliance Coalition, and SADD members have volunteered at countless events over the years. Casa Grande SADD members plan activities for booths, alongside the Casa Grande Alliance, at Silent Witness Anti-Crime Night, the Pinal County Fair, Casa Grande’s Day of Play, and many other local events.

The chapters have also taken the initiative to partner on the Neighbors United graffiti cleanup day, adopt walls for the Casa Grande Police Graffiti Abatement program, and have their own informational booths at various school events.

“Youth leadership groups such as SADD truly impact the lives of the students in a positive way; to be more

confident, to focus energy and skills on positive messages, to be role models for peers and family, and to be an asset to the community. Youth leadership groups give students an anchor to keep them in the positive direction that are there throughout the many changes that happen in their young lives,” SADD member, Caitlin Wiles.

SADD members gain experience in public speaking, gain insight in self-awareness and self-efficacy, and develop skills to enhance their leadership capabilities. SADD members are often faced with making the choice they think will make them appear ‘cool’ to their peers or the ethical choice.

To combat this feeling, the members adopted a motto in 2008,‘Making Positive Choices Popular’, which still resonates with chapters today.

“Leadership means being there for your family, friends, lending a helping hand and being a good example within the community.” SADD alumni, Lorenzo Gonzalez III SADD’s mission is to empower young people to confront the risks and pressures that challenge them in their daily lives successfully. The youth involved in Casa Grande SADD embody what it means to be a community leader. The members take action to address issues affecting Casa Grande and strive to help others. If you are interested in joining SADD or want more information, contact the Casa Grande Alliance at 520-8365022 or like the Casa Grande SADD Facebook page.

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THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

The LIVING Interview

Robert “Bob” Jackson Mayor of Casa Grande, Arizona Interview by Rock Earle GC LIVING: Tell us a little about yourself – introduce us to bob jackson MAYOR JACKSON: I have lived in Casa Grande since 1991 having moved here from Reno, Nevada. I had been a partner in a mid-sized engineering company based in Sacramento and serving primarily northern Nevada and Northern California. I had decided that I wanted to move to a smaller community and was hired as the City’s Public Works Director. I retired from the City in 2002 and started a one-person engineering business helping local communities with their engineering issues.

I have a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno and prior to working in Reno worked in the San Francisco Bay Area and Albany, Oregon. I am a registered professional engineer in California and Arizona.

In every community I have lived I have always been involved in trying to make it a better place to live. Over the years I have been involved in Community Strategic Plans, multiple non Profit boards and countless special events.

GC LIVING: Why did you run for mayor originally? And then re-up three times?

MAYOR JACKSON: After retiring and seeing some of the things our neighboring communities were doing I became increasing concerned about where we were headed as a City and felt new leadership was needed.

In 2007 I was lucky enough to be elected to my first term as Mayor. After my first two years, I recognized that many of the initiatives I wanted to see move forward were still in the development stage and ran the second and third times to assure many of the initiatives were implemented.

I really ran for my last term after talking to my wife, City Manager Jim Thompson

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“I ran the first time on a platform of creating jobs for the community, improving our quality of life and providing the citizens better information on city issues and achievements.” and several other friends that encouraged me to run a final time to continue trying to move the City forward. We had several big projects that were not yet complete that I wanted to be a part of finishing.

GC LIVING: What do you think were your major accomplishments?

MAYOR JACKSON: I ran the first time on a platform of creating jobs for the community, improving our quality of life and providing the citizens better information on city issues and achievements.

Some of the more significant things include completing almost $200 million dollars in infrastructure and city facilities during the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Completing the work during this time allowed us to get good bid prices using some of the more veteran construction teams. We also were able to increase our Bond Rating three times during this peri-

od, lowering our interest rates and allowing us to have smaller annual debt payments.

The biggest of these projects was the Water Reclamation Facility. This expansion has allow us to attract Ehrmann Dairy (the yogurt manufacturer), Franklin Foods (the Cream Cheese Company) and Tractor Supply Company’s Distribution Center.

One the quality of life front we completed a significant trail system on Casa Grande Mountain. For years it had been used by hikers without marked trails and no trail heads. Today it has over 10 miles of marked trails for all skill levels and two trail heads to start from. The project was completed by volunteers and the use of Americorps teams at no cost to the local taxpayers.

A second program that has gained some national recognition is our Let Move initiative part of a program implemented by Michelle Obama to address childhood obesity and health. We have received national awards for our program and have successfully partnered with the private sector to move the program forward.

Sometimes being in the right place at the right time is a good thing. During my initial campaign I talked about using 21st century tools to help better inform our citizens. Working with City staff and a talented webmaster, we revamped the City’s website and public information programs. Today we receive over 20 million visits to our website, send out numerous news blasts to our citizens and are now televising our Council meetings as well as streaming them on our website.

GC LIVING: What do you consider to be unfulfilled items of your terms?

MAYOR JACKSON: The biggest unfulfilled

continued on page 50...

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Special Section: Access Arizona LOCAL BUSINESS

Economic Development Every Community Is Different

by Jim Dinkle, Executive Director, Access Arizona

I believe that Arizona and Pinal County are leaders in visioning, diversity, innovation, character and work ethic.

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T

he noun “leadership” means many things depending on whom you ask. Right now, for example, a Donald Trump supporter would likely have an entirely different definition of leadership than a Bernie Sanders supporter. Personally, I have always liked what John Kennedy said of leadership in accepting his party’s presidential nomination in 1960, “For courage, not complacency, is our need today, leadership not salesmanship. And the only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously.”

I have met or known many leaders in my life. The best such leaders have been clergy within my church who have led their congregations by teaching scripture, compassion, vision and the promise of life everlasting. Great leaders, such as clergy, build faith, trust, respect and a set of guiding principles.

One leader that I worked for told me on my first day of work, “Never turn a person away by telling them what they can’t do, rather find a way to tell them what they can do.” Here I am 27 years later recalling those words and still following them. That leader died in 2002, but his words live on in my mind daily.

One leader that I knew was a man named Albert Benjamin Chandler, more commonly known as “Happy” Chandler. That name means little to nothing to most people today, but he was Harvard-educated and once a US senator, a governor, served six years as Major League Baseball Commissioner and is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died in 1991, but I visit his grave on most trips to my native Kentucky. When I was in college and for years afterward I would sit and talk to Happy Chandler either at his home or at the University of Kentucky. I learned as much by accident as I did on purpose by listening to his stories about

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succeeding in leadership and being a leader, as well as missives he would pen as after thoughts of our conversations. Chandler was often a fish swimming against the current, as evidenced by his decision in 1947 to break the color barrier and allow Jackie Robinson to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Leaders are often people unafraid to step outside the box, to see the proverbial big picture and who dare to be different.

The political consultant James Carville is the most unusual leader with whom I worked. I worked with him in a governor’s office from 1988-1991. He was difficult, outrageous, bullying and defiant, yet all the while he was brilliant, visionary, and adept at reading people, genuine and a southern gentleman. His marriage to his political polar opposite, Mary Matalin, in 1993 bears witness to the paradoxical ways that set him apart as a leader. I place Carville on my mantle of leaders, because he is unafraid to speak the truth, he leads from the front, he meshes logic with reasoning and he is loyal.

Now I come to leadership in economic development. A retired banker from Battle Creek, Michigan, named Bob Quadrozzi came out of retirement and moved to rural Jay County, Indiana, to lead their economic devel-

opment program. He once told me, “You’ll have a lot more losses than wins in economic development. It’s the only sport I know of where you can bat less than .100 and still be successful.” He was right, though I am forever trying to break .100. Bob died suddenly in an automobile accident in 2007 returning home from a cancer treatment. He was just 69.

What does leadership in economic development look like? There is not a one size fits all economic developer, because every community is different.

An economic developer is a salesman, a marketer, an economist, an educator and a visionary, all the while being politically astute. They are part Willy Loman, Jerry Maguire, Howard Beale and Dr. Strangelove.

I pursued a career in economic development, because in college I worked as a tour guide at our state capitol and governor’s mansion when Toyota and its suppliers were site selecting in Kentucky to build the Camry assembly plant. Often, I would tour Asian guests and I marveled at their interest in Kentucky crafts, mountain culture, bourbon whiskey, thoroughbred horses and southern cuisine. I watched state commerce officials, legislators, the governor, the state chamber of commerce, educators, utilities, healthcare providers and many others with interest collaborate to make the deal happen.

Today, that plant has over 100 suppliers located in Kentucky, employs 7,000 workers, is 7.5 million-square-feet or 156 football fields under one roof and has assembled more than 10 million Camries! This monumental economic development collaboration required the leadership of many people.

I believe that Arizona and Pinal County are leaders in visioning, diversity, innovation, character and work ethic. Our strength is in our people and that is our most compelling story to sell and to lead new businesses here.

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PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA

A place to grow your business, raise your family and walk your dog!

Access Arizona is the regional economic development authority helping businesses to locate or expand in Pinal County. Let Access Arizona help grow your business! Contact Access Arizona at either 520.836.6868 or info@accessarizona.org.

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THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Access Arizona - Looking Forward with Jim Dinkle

Jim Dinkle

Executive Director of Access Arizona Interview by Rock Earle GC LIVING: Tell us about you and your background leading you up to Access, Arizona.

JIM DINKLE: I have 20 plus years experience in the field of economic development at the state, regional, county and municipal levels. I've worked in economic development on both the public and private sides. I worked 5 years on the private side for BNSF Railway, which is the second largest railroad in the United States, and I did site selection for its customers across 5 states and worked with international accounts..

GC LIVING: So you know what it's like from the other side.

JIM DINKLE: I do, I do very much so. And you know, that, kind of makes meunique in my field. I'm not traditional in that I tend to look at prospects and projects aa lot differently than your everyday economic developer, from having that breadth of experience.

GC LIVING: And what lead you to say yes to the Access Arizona offer?

JIM DINKLE: I moved to Arizona 6 years ago and I had a contract position in southwest Indiana and that was a county-wide economic development organization. I wanted towork closer to where my home was.

So that's what led me here to Pinal County in October of 2012.I live in Mesa and I have a reverse commute as they say. I get a lot of work done on my way to and from work and it works out real well. Especially if I'm returning calls to the midwest and the east.

GC LIVING: So was it just the offer of a job or were there some things that came into play?

JIM DINKLE: I knew Pinal County from having lived in Arizona for several years. I had explored this area as a resident of Arizona, so I knew, what I was coming to and that

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

“I think there’s potential because of our proximity to Phoenix and to Tucson, Scottsdale, to attract innovators and entrepreneurs.” was very attractive. The reputation that Pinal County had before I came here as being how do you say, high-growth, having highgrowth potential was a challenge that I welcomed. As an economic developer I saw that as a good opportunity to help grow the, community further. So I think that's very much proven itself to be the case.

When I came for my interview I met members of our search committee who were directors on our board and, again, I felt a great sense of excitement being able to work with people like Evelyn Casuga, possibly, in the future, or Donovan Kramer, whose fatherwas a business legend in the community. But then also meeting a lot of the public officials during that process and having a really high comfort level with them. So, again, I kind of learned through the selection process, that the support was there for economic development and, that there was huge potentialto grow Pinal County.

GC LIVING: So, do you consider your time here so far to be quite fruitful or has it been a strange time trying to do what you do in the midst of the “Great Recession”?

JIM DINKLE: This is what I would call atran-

sitional time for Pinal County. And by that I mean I think we're still trying to decide what we want to be when we grow up. For example, Access, Arizona has a strategic plan that targets four sectors. We are not so rigid that if, if, something outside of those four sectors presents itself, that we don't talk to them, we do. But I think we're still trying to decide, do we want to be logistics and distribution, do we really want to invest the resources in being aerospace and aviation, or do we really want to grow a very strong, good agricultural sector. You know, historically agriculture has been and remains the biggest business sector in Pinal County's economy.

In the three years I've been here, I feel like they have been fruitful. I'm probably the fish swimming up stream in that I'm probably advocating more for a paradigm shift where we seek higher-paying and more skilled jobs by attaching ourselves to the state universities like ASU and the University of Arizona and, try to bring their entrepreneurs and their innovators from the research parks into Pinal County with their businesses.

I am an outside-the-box thinker. But, I do think outside the box in a logical, reasonable fashion. And, I think there's potential because of our proximity to Phoenix and to Tucson, Scottsdale, to attract innovators and entrepreneurs.From my perspective, I think that the retention and expansion of existing businesses is equally, if not more important, than seeking out new businesses. We have people with very deep roots in the community. And those businesses tend to grow slowly and a little more incrementally. It's not as sexy as being able to step out and say, I've recruited a hun-

continued on page 36...

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Special Section: Access Arizona LOCAL BUSINESS

From Aerospace & Defense to Agriculture & Dairy:

Casa Grande is a Global Success Story

Submitted by Arizona Commerce Authority

A

n abundant workforce and strategic geographic location make Casa Grande perfectly suited for global expansion opportunities.

Whether it’s aerospace & defense, agriculture or advanced manufacturing, Casa Grande attracts some of the most innovative companies in the world.

In fact, two companies in particular boast worldwide distinctions: • The Casa Grande facility of Hexcel Corp. is the world’s largest producer of honeycomb for the commercial aerospace industry.

• Casa Grande is also home to the world’s fastest-growing cream cheese company, Franklin Foods, which opened its western dairy-production facility in the city two years ago.

While separate and distinct, both companies are examples of sustained business growth and expansion, creating high-quality jobs and helping to keep the region’s economic engine humming.

Hexcel Corp

If you’ve taken a commercial flight on an Airbus or Boeing jet, chances are you’ve come into contact with a Hexcel product.

That’s because Hexcel supplies the lightweight materials found in everything from an airplane’s fuselage to its passenger doors,

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Franklin Foods

window frames and engine components.

Hexcel has a global footprint in the aerospace industry, producing these advanced composites, such as carbon fiber and honeycomb, from its 18 manufacturing plants worldwide.

Hexcel’s Casa Grande plant is the world’s largest producer of honeycomb for the commercial aerospace industry. Its 321,000-square-foot facility, about an hour’s drive south of the Phoenix metro area, marked its 50th anniversary in the region this year.

It’s an example of sustained excellence that is a testament to the company’s innovative product line. Arizona’s strategic geographic location is perfectly suited for advanced manufacturing opportunities in aerospace and defense.

Arizona’s position as a national aerospace and defense hub contributes to this success story. The sector contributes billions of dollars to the state’s economy and employs thousands of high-wage workers. The state has a long history of U.S. military partnerships and consistently ranks among the top states in U.S. Department of Defense spending.

In Casa Grande, the company has made four major expansions – in 1966, 1973, 1994 and 2012. In the past three years, Hexcel has invested more than $36 million in the plant.

Today, the company employs more than 500 people.

To help meet the customer demands of the fastest-growing cream cheese company in the world, Franklin Foods in August 2013 chose dairy-rich Casa Grande for its state-of-theart facility that serves customers across the western U.S. and the world.

The 90,000-square-foot facility has a diversified product mix and packaging capabilities that are distributed to industrial, institutional, food service, and private-label retail and supermarket customers. The Casa Grande facility produces up to 1 million pounds of cheese a week.

Known for quality infrastructure, workforce and abundant milk supply, Casa Grande is the ideal location for modern dairy facilities. Franklin Foods cited the Casa Grande area’s “talent-rich community” as a reason for its expansion.

Casa Grande has a thriving dairy industry built on family owned farms, as well as national and international companies involved in agriculture and dairy operations. In fact, about 25 dairies and nearly half of the state’s 185,000 dairy cows call Casa Grande and Pinal County home.

Franklin Foods was joined in October 2013 by Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy, which manufactures yogurt from its 27-acre, 99,000-square-foot Casa Grande facility.

Both companies worked with the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), the state’s economic development arm, and Access Arizona, Pinal County’s economic development partner, on the expansion opportunities.

Casa Grande is located in Pinal County, the third most populous county in Arizona. Between 2000 and 2010, the county was the second-fastest growing county in the United States.

From abundant agricultural-based land to shovel-ready sites outfitted with modern infrastructure, Casa Grande continues to see business growth and is ripe for expansion opportunities.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Special Section: Access Arizona HEALTH

Community Engagement

by Tammy Gabel, Banner Casa Grande Medical Center Rounding allows the leaders to observe staff-patient interactions first hand, and to check in with patients and families on their experiences.

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B

anner Casa Grande Medical Center, along with the other 28 hospitals in the Banner Health system, is in the middle of an engagement campaign to celebrate the work we do every day to support our patients, families and communities.

“We are committed to achieving Banner’s mission of providing excellent patient care, and we know that happy employees are crucial to this mission,” said Banner Casa Grande CEO Rona Curphy.

A variety of staff events were held throughout the summer – employees participated in photo contests, departments challenged each other in games such as Family Feud, competed against other Banner facilities in a video contest, and more. Because of the positive employee response, these activities will continue once a month through the rest of the year. Visitors who happen to be at the hospital the third Wednesday of each month may notice many employees wearing their engagement T-shirts.

“When we have an engaged work force, we do a better job,” Curphy said.

“Our employees have busy and demanding jobs. These activities give them a time to reconnect as a team, and increases job satisfaction, which in turn leads to better care for our patients.”

But engagement isn’t just about celebrations. Banner’s leaders are provided a variety of tools to help them engage with employees. These tools assist with everything from how to actively listen and ask questions that create a dialogue to how to best recognize colleagues.

When Banner Casa Grande transitioned from Casa Grande Regional Medical Center last year, hospital administrators had a big task in front of them – employee engagement, physician engagement, volunteer engagement and community engagement.

The idea was to figure out how to engage a large group of people before the transition was complete. Administra-

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tors from the hospital and the Banner Health system undertook the task early, communicating frequently so they all understood the benefits it would provide to everyone involved.

“By the time the transition was complete, there was a noticeable difference on how well the process of engagement worked,” Curphy said. It really was a ‘trickle down’effect – administrators started the process with employees, then employees and administrators engaged physicians, and then physicians, employees and administrators engaged volunteers and patients.”

Curphy said engagement has been a big reason the transition has been so successful. She cites some examples, like the achievements the hospital has received this year including Banner Casa Grande earning top 10 ranking as a best place to work in Ranking Arizona’s “Best Places to Work” category. Also earlier this year, it was recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as a 150 Great places to Work in Healthcare hospital, earning a place on the prestigious list for promoting employee and workplace culture. The final award this year has just been announced: Banner Casa Grande Medical Center is one of 40 recipientsof the 2015 Arizona’s Most Admired Companies Award, again highlighting the great workplace culture and engagement of employees, physicians, and volunteers.

One of the most important com-

ponents of engagement is rounding.

Managers at all levels receive training on how to round effectively, and have leadership effectiveness training monthly. Leaders at Banner Casa Grande round on employees, volunteers, physicians, and – more importantly – patients, on a regular basis.

“Every leader rounds weekly,” Curphy said. “Patients and families can expect to see us around the hospital. This is a critical component to care, and ensures we’re providing the best patient experience possible.”

Rounding allows the leaders to observe staff-patient interactions first hand, and to check in with patients and families on their experiences. Because it’s a part of the culture, employees don’t get nervous when they see the boss coming down the hall, but instead appreciate the opportunity to provide and receive feedback.

Patients appreciate it as well. This is an opportunity for patients, as well as their loved ones, to tell hospital leaders about their experience, providing valuable feedback on what the staff did to make their time in the hospital comfortable, or share opportunities for improvement.

“We have always enjoyed a culture of family among the employees here,” Curphy said. “Patients are our extended family. The rounding is a visible way for us to let the community know we’re here for them as well.”

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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Casa Grande Union High School District st

A 21 Century Education with 21st Century Choices!

CAMPUSES

Two comprehensive campuses, one STEM Academy and a Learning Center Program.

STAFF

Led by 152 qualified teachers

COURSE OFFERINGS Over 200 course offerings

LIBRARY AND RESOURCES More than 10,000 volumes at two campuses

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Emphasis on effective instructional practices

TUTORING

Available four days a week on all campuses

STEM AT CASA VERDE

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

COMMUNICATIONS

PowerSchool, School Connect, direct email to staff, weekly news

ACTIVITIES

FFA, FBLA, FPS, ROBOTICS, MARCHING BAND, National FCCLA, DECA, Academic Decathlon—state, national and international awards

COLLABORATION ALTERNATIVES

CAVIT, CAC, private corporations, City of Casa Grande

FACILITIES

Professional Culinary Arts Kitchen, FFA greenhouse, Art, Auto Shop, Computer Labs, Theater Arts Auditorium

ATHLETICS

Baseball, Softball, Basketball, Football, Track, Cross Country, Soccer, Golf, Spiritline, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling

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Developing the Next Generation of Leaders

by Bryan Harris, Ed.D., Casa Grande Elementary School District

I

n the 2014 issue of Golden Corridor Living Magazine, we highlighted the efforts we have undertaken as a school district to identify and develop our own leaders within the organization. In that issue, we were proud to report our successes – more Rodel Exemplary Principals than any other school district in Arizona, a recognized leadership development program, and the fact that every principal hired since 2006 has been from within the district.

At that time, I highlighted the importance of good leadership to the school and the community it serves. Effective leadership makes a tremendous difference for schools and students. While overall leadership, direction, and vision may come from the adults running the school, leadership can be learned and practiced at any age. In this issue, we are proud to highlight some of the efforts we have undertaken to help develop leadership skills in students.

A time-honored tradition in schools around the country is the student council.

These student groups consist of elected student officers who work to improve the conditions of the school through service projects, sponsorship, events, and fundraising. In addition to providing representation for the student body, members of the student council practice and refine their leadership skills by participating in annual events including attendance at a conference where they have an opportunity to learn about real-life applications of leadership practices.

Students in grades 6-7 also have an opportunity to participate in the District’s annual Middle School Leadership Summit.

Taking place each February, this day-long event brings together about 50 middle school students from around the District to focus on techniques and methods to address bullying in schools. “We believe that leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills are best learned when addressing

real-world problems. So we bring together a group of remarkable and motivated students to listen to their ideas and to make plans for changes that can be made at their school sites,” said program coordinator Sandra Schroeder.

However, the District doesn’t wait until middle school to begin developing leadership skills in students. Two elementary programs have received accolades and recognition from parents and the community – Ironwood Elementary’s Leader In Me and Mesquite Elementary’s Family Groups.

Based on Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the Leader in Me Program was started in the 2014-2015 school year with the goal of helping students develop 21st Century leadership skills. Principal Jennifer McClintic explains the program,

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Casa Grande Elementary School District is

ity

m Co

ol

ho Sc

The responsibility is Yours and Mine

m un

Success for Every One

ts en ud St

Fa m ilie s

The choice for families in Casa Grande

Did You Know?

• Casa Grande Elementary has more A+ Schools and A+ Programs than any other school district in Pinal County • The District has a proven, rigorous instructional program built upon “Success for Every One”

“This program has provided an excellent framework for our students to learn and demonstrate important leadership skills. We have seen an increase in student motivation and engagement and a decrease in behavior concerns because students are given the opportunity to learn about themselves and how leadership can be demonstrated at any age. This approach is so effective because we weave the Leader In Me habits and ideas into our daily curriculum so students can understand the connections between leadership skills and the content they are learning from their teachers.”

This school year, the staff at Mesquite Elementary School was challenged by Principal Julie Holdsworth to be innovative in creating a truly special school culture. The staff worked hard over the summer to design a

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

unique approach they call Family Groups.

These groups, which are different than their regular grade-level classroom, meet regularly throughout the school year to learn about topics ranging from communication to teambuilding and leadership. “The unique aspect of this program is that students are mixed by grade levels. Every student and staff member is assigned to a Family Group and each group consists of students across different grade levels,” explained Principal Holdsworth. “Because our Family Groups have a wide variety of age groups in them, we are promoting leadership in our older students and providing great role models for the younger ones. Rather than just telling students to be leaders, our Family Groups offer them a concrete way to demonstrate leadership skills.”

Visit Your Child’s School Today!

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

WWW.CGELEM.K12.AZ.US

520.836.2111

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Special Section: Access Arizona EDUCATION

Karen Geldmacher Receives PostSecondary Teacher of the Year Award

by Angela Askey, Director of Marketing

K

aren Geldmacher, Professor of Agriculture at Central Arizona College was recently named Post-Secondary Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Agriculture Teachers Association.

She was recognized for her efforts in making a positive difference in the lives of agriculture students both at Central Arizona College and throughout the state of Arizona.

Upon receiving this prestigious award, Geldmacher stated, “I admire and appreciate the outstanding Arizona high school agricultural educators who have championed our program throughout the years.”

Geldmacher grew up in Mesa, AZ with her siblings, Kurt Geldmacher and Kris Johnson, during the 1960’s when Dobson south of Baseline was a dirt road. Her father was a dentist and her mother, a homemaker.

In 1964 the family purchased the Holy Joe Ranch in Aravaipa Canyon, north of Tucson.

Geldmacher recalls spending weekends and summers at the ranch, where together as a family they raised cross-bred Brangus cattle. They built a ranch house and developed a sustainable operation consisting of working corrals, barbed-wire fenced and irrigated pastures, livestock/wildlife water tanks, rotational grazing systems, and citrus and pecan orchards.

It was a love of animals, plants and the great-outdoors that in-

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spired Geldmacher’s passion for agriculture. After graduating high school she attended the University of Arizona and in 1980 earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture. This led to her first job with the Natural Resource Conservation Service in Coolidge, AZ designing irrigation systems for farmers.

During the construction boom of the 1980’s, Geldmacher worked as a sales representative

pecans, pistachios and watermelons.

For nearly the past twenty years, Geldmacher has been teaching others about agriculture at CAC. She began her career at the college teaching plant science and soil science courses part time following the passing of Professor Dean Merrell in 1996.

One year later she was hired as faculty at the Signal Peak Campus to develop multi-media plant

for A&G Sod Farms covering the golf and landscape industry in Arizona. She was instrumental in working on the golf course project at Red Mountain Ranch in east Mesa, AZ. A decade later, Custom Farm Service of Arizona hired Geldmacher as a customer service representative. She enjoyed creating their monthly newsletter and organizing various education events for local farmers. During this same time and for a total of 25 years, Karen was a partner in Tierra Verde and Bar U7 Farms.

They grew Upland and Pima cotton, durum wheat, alfalfa,

science and soil science courses for CAC through a United States Department of Agriculture Grant and in 1999, Karen transitioned to a permanent faculty position with CAC. “It’s important to recognize the CAC faculty who were my mentors as I learned the art of teaching. I would like to thank Ed Peters, Varr Myers, Pat Harrington and Bill Kinnison. I would also like to express my appreciation to the faculty and staff of the Engineering and Technology Division, the CAC Agriculture Department, and the entire CAC community for their support

throughout my career,” stated Geldmacher.

While educating others, Geldmacher continued her own education and earned a Master’s Degree in Agriculture from the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 2001.

Currently, Geldmacher teaches multiple courses at CAC such as Natural Resources and Conservation, Plant Science, Soil Science, Agriculture Leadership Development, and Basic Surveying and Grade Staking.

She has also served as a member of the college’s curriculum committee, Sheldon University Building Committee, Personal Development Committee and as a Faculty Advisor.

When asked about highlights to her career, Geldmacher stated, “During my career I’ve experienced many advancements in agriculture including seed genetics, precision equipment engineering, irrigation water conservation techniques and integrated pest management systems. I include this new technology in my classroom for our students.” She added, “I look at my responsibilities as an agricultural educator as an opportunity to meet great students and contribute to their personal growth and career success. I seek to inspire a passion for agriculture and our natural resources in every student. My favorite memories include student graduation

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• Title & Escrow Services • Commercial Services • Direct Title Services • 1031 Exchange • Account Servicing • Land Development/Trust 421 East Cottonwood Lane Casa Grande, Arizona 85122 Office: 520-426-4600 • Fax: 520-426-4699 Email: latisha.sopha@titlesecurity.com ceremonies, observing personal achievements of our students and the realization of successful agricultural careers for our graduates.”

Geldmacher is a champion for agriculture in the state of Arizona and is proud of the number of CAC graduates working in pro-

fessional agriculture professions throughout Arizona.

Her passion has inspired her own children, Robyn Ollerton-Lawson & Byron Ollerton to also pursue agriculture careers.

Geldmacher currently resides in Casa Grande, AZ with her husband, Mitch Laudal.

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Access Arizona - Looking Forward with Jim Dinkle (cont) continued from page 27... dred million dollar investment that's going to hire 500 people. It's not that sexy. But, they do contribute in a big way over time...

Existing businesses grow incrementally, they're stable, they're going to be here in five, ten, fifteen years. And nine times out of ten they are owners not tenants. And that's a big factor to be considered as well.

GC LIVING: Okay. We've worked on the economic development professional.

JIM DINKLE: Yep. GC LIVING: Most of our readers are not economic development professionals. Most of our readers who live here, work here, and have various thoughts about that. The next several questions I want to ask are for Jim Dinkle the citizen, about the local life experience here. I want to start that off with the zinger. Why don't you live here?

JIM DINKLE: For one thing, because the home that I bought was an investment and the value, as far as being able to sell it, compared to what I paid for it (laughing) is, probably not a big enough margin to warrant selling it, yet. As much as anything it's personal. And plus it doesn't effect, as far as the hours that I spend here or the time that I give to the job or to the community. I'm here early mornings, evenings and weekends as much as anybodywho lives here.

GC LIVING: Okay.

JIM DINKLE: I do like the anonymity, too, of not living here and that I can go to the grocery, where I live, and not be stopped and asked what's moving in the space where Eva's used to be? Or I hear that such and such business is leaving town. You know, again, I do like that down time away from here, to help kind of clear my brain (laughing) and ground myself.

GC LIVING: Okay. From the standpoint of the local citizen, we live here, we work here, we do not have that anonymity. We get around and everywhere we go there's stuff happening.

JIM DINKLE: Yep. GC LIVING: There are cranes on the horizon, there's new construction...

JIM DINKLE: Yep. GC LIVING: ... there's all kinds of stuff.

JIM DINKLE: Yep. GC LIVING: We get home and we look around and we wonder why there isn't anything

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happening here. People I talk to, who end up getting out and about as much as we do to Maricopa County or Tucson or California. They come back and say, where is everything? Why isn't anything happening here?

JIM DINKLE: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Well, there are things happening here. Tractor Supply company is opening in October of this year, about a three quarter of a million square foot distribution center, about 200 plus full-time permanent employees

“This is a very transitional time in Pinal in it’s politics and leadership” with benefits. That's happening here. You see other new investment in terms of retail. Retail is a good barometer. If those site selectors see good disposable income and so forth they locate here. So, that's a good sign. So things are happening here, very slowly and quietly.

Kuehne + Nagel is a multinational logistics company that just rented much of the warehouse and distribution center building out towards Robson Ranch.Their major market is Asia. And for them to locate here and then take even more space in that building that became available, that's a very good sign that a huge corporation saw our transportation network and the potential to locate here and to be able to distribute here profitably, that's a real good sign. So there are things quietly going on around here. And that's evidenced by our low unemployment rate.

You've seen the unemployment rate in the past year drop from about 8.1% down to about the 5 1/2% range in Pinal County. So you're seeing things slowly, quietly, gradually, incrementally happening to improve the economy.

GC LIVING: My last question, considering everything we've talked about so far ... what is happening, what isn't happening … It's the potential, all the promise. What single

area would you like help in, from, various groups of Pinal County? Local coverage, that you don't already get? What helped you the most?

JIM DINKLE: That's a tantalizing question, it’s a great question. I am going to answer the question, but I'm going to make a statement in the process. I have found people here to be a lot more open minded and accepting of change than I thought they would be.

When I came here three years ago, again, this is a very transitional time in Pinal in its politics and leadership. And I have found people more open to change in terms of their outlook and the way they do business and so forth. But, on the other hand, I think if we would look at a paradigm shift in local economic development that would help me considerably.

I'm a big believer in a concept that's known as Community Wealth Building.

And Community Wealth Building works to retain and expand anchor businesses or institutions in a community. And it works with those anchorsto help connect them with local people who may be general contractors, who maybe suppliers, who maybe vendors. But again, I would like to work more closely withPinal county government, with Banner hospital, with Sun Life, with Central Arizona College and with employers who are anchors throughout the county.

Again, to feed business into them by people who live within Pinal county. Lots of people in economic development are extremely dismissive of this term known as Community Wealth Building. Because its not quite as sexy as going out and saying that you've recruited a business that's going to put up a hundred million dollar building and create 500 jobs and have a 10 million dollar a year payroll.

Community Wealth Building is more incremental, its more localized … I'm giving a presentation at our next board of directors meeting about it. It's very liberal, it’s extremely progressive and it's something that like 10 years ago when you would get in front of a group of economic developers and you would talk about Dr Richard Florida’s creative class - the series of books he wrote - they would look at you like a tree

continued on page 44...

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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37

Special Section: Access Arizona

Keeping Pinal County Safe

By Paul Babeu, Pinal County Sheriff

The citizens, families and businesses that call Pinal County home, are fortunate to have a group of highly trained law enforcement and detention personnel.

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T

he Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has a very simple mission statement; “Keeping you, your family, and our communities safe.” Eight words that get to the heart of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office pledge to the community. These eight words guide the diverse and talented professionals who make up the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.

Keeping you, your family and the communities safe is a mission that is accomplished in so many different ways in Pinal County. Over 600 employees and over 200 volunteers provide a diverse response to the public safety needs of the county of over 400,000 people. The sheriff’s office is tasked with patrolling the neighborhoods, schools and rural areas of unincorporated Pinal County. As well, they have teams of investigators and crime scene specialists to investigate crimes, big and small. The office operates the county’s 9-1-1 emergency call center and perform search and rescue for those that find themselves in need.

Along with traditional law enforcement and support functions, the Sheriff’s Office is mandated by law to maintain and staff a safe and efficient jail facility. There are 233 uniformed and support personnel staffing the county’s adult detention facility. The facility is the third largest county jail in the state of Arizona, having a rated capacity of 1,503 beds. The primary function of the jail is to house inmates awaiting trial for felony and misdemeanor crimes.

A percentage of the population has been sentenced to serve time in the jail and are serving their term of less than a year in the facility.

The Pinal County Jail was selected as a pilot site by the Nationals Sheriffs’ Association for Jail Operations for Accreditation. The accreditation is governed by legal based standards established through case law. The Pinal County Jail received its first accreditation in June 2011 and was reaccredited December 2013 receiving a “Level

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1” rating which is the highest score possible. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Jail is the first Arizona Jail to receive their National Accreditation.

The patrol division of the sheriff’s office is staffed by 215 sworn deputies who operate out of four districts that cover the 5437 square miles of the county. Patrol areas include the northern county areas of Apache Junction and San Tan Valley, to the communities of San Manuel and Saddlebrook in the south. Our eastern region covers the unincorporated areas of Superior, Kearny, Winkleman and Hayden and the western regions cover unincorporated areas of Casa Grande, Maricopa and Stanfield. The patrol officers value their community partnerships with the schools, boys and girls clubs, the diverse business community and civic groups. They responded to over 90,000 calls for service in 2014.

The Sheriff’s Office investigative teams handle all types of cases that can result in prolonged, sensitive or expertise driven criminal investigations. Some of the units of PCSO that make up the investigative bureau are, Robbery/Homicide, Person Crimes, Property Crimes, Anti Smuggling, Sex Offender Registration and Tracking, Computer Forensics, Crime Victim Volunteers and the ID Technicians Unit. The Sheriff’s Office also oversees a regional (SWAT) tactical response team, and a regional narcotics task force.The investigative units support all law enforcement agencies within Pinal County and are staffed for around-the-clock response.

The 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Center provides 24-hour a day coverage for emergency and non-emergency calls. The 29 dispatchers that staff the center are highly trained in law enforcement communications and support sheriff’s deputies as well as local police and fire agencies.

The 29 men and women who staffed the call center in 2014 handled over

300,000 non-emergency calls and over 64,000 9-1-1 emergency calls.

The Pinal County Search and Rescue (SAR) Unit conducts day and night mobile Search and Rescue operations in both urban and wilderness environments. The Aviation Unit works closely with search and rescue teams on the ground to provide quick responses to some of the most rugged terrain in the county. In the first three months of 2015, the SAR teams responded to 17 searches for individuals, 34 rescues and 19 patrol support missions. SAR assets are on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and at a moment’s notice, to provide assistances to anyone in the county that is lost or in crisis A key part of our search and rescue operations are the members of the Pinal County SAR Volunteer Posse. They are a group of highly trained rescuers that assist local, county, and state agencies in the many varied terrains that need to be covered in any search and rescue mission that comes up.

The citizens, families and businesses that call Pinal County home, are fortunate to have a group of highly trained law enforcement and detention personnel who carry out the many diverse public safety functions of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. The mission to keep you, your family and our communities safe is much more than eight words; it is the standard that each employee strives to meet every day and their commitment to the communities they serve.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

WEALTH

Why Choose a Community Bank?

by Shea Nieto

T

here are many choices today for people wanting to have a banking relationship.

Online banks, mega-banks, private banks, credit unions and community banks each have their place in the market. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, but why is it a good idea to do business with a community bank in particular?

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance provides a compelling list of reasons why a community bank is a great choice.

First, the Institute points out that national data suggests average fees at community banks are less than at large institutions, while offering the same menu of services, from online banking to credit and debit cards.

Next, the Institute illustrates that small businesses, the backbone of the U.S. economy, depend heavily on small community banks for financing. This puts local money to work in the communities in which small businesses operate, as those funds get reinvested directly into the local economy.

Third, the local aspect of community banks is discussed as a

very unique feature versus dealing with larger banks. Decisions at community banks are made locally. Community bankers tend to have a close, personal connection to those with whom they do business and a very good grasp of local needs.

Another valid point made by the Institution is the fact that community banks are tethered to the communities in which they operate. Therefore, as the community prospers, so does the local institution. This symbiotic relationship is fundamental to the concept of community banking.

Fifth, the Institute captures the essence of community banking by making the case that it is the job of local lenders to turn deposits into loans and other productive investments that provide both economic and social value to the communities they serve.

We at Foothills Bank espouse the idea of serving this community in ways that will benefit all who live and work here. If you haven’t inquired recently to see what a community bank can do for you, I would like to personally invite you to see what we have to offer. Consider it done! 32 Karen Pines Street Dedham, MA 02026 978.264.3264

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

32 Karen Pines Street Dedham, MA 02026

As a business owner, you want a bank with great resources, sophisticated solutions, and smart ideas.

Youaalso want aowner, bank that genuinely values you as a As business you want a bank with great customer.

Well, you’ll find all this at Foothills Bank. resources, sophisticated solutions, and smart ideas.

You’llalso getwant the level of that expertise you’dvalues expect from You a bank genuinely you as aa big bank, with friendly, personalized attention from customer. Well, you’ll find all this at Foothills Bank. a localget business just yours.you’d Superior service You’ll the level of like expertise expect from a without a superior attitude?

Consider it done.

As abank, business youpersonalized want a bankattention with greatfrom big withowner, friendly, As a business owner, you want a bank with great sophisticated and smart ideas. aresources, local business just like solutions, yours. Superior service resources, sophisticated solutions, and smart ideas.

520.423.4900 foothillsbank.com You also awant a bank that genuinely values you as a without superior attitude?

Consider it done.

You also want a bank that genuinely valuesMember you asFDIC a customer. Well,Shea you’ll find all this at Foothills Bank.

Nieto, customer. Well, you’ll find all thisCCIM at Foothills Bank.

You’ll get the level of expertise you’d expect from a 520.423.4900 foothillsbank.com Regional President You’ll get the level of expertise you’d expect fromFDIC a Member big bank, with friendly, from (520)personalized 423-4910 attention big bank, with friendly, personalized attention from Shea.Nieto@foothillsbank.com a local business just like yours. Superior service a local business just like yours. Superior service without a superior attitude? Consider it done. without a superior attitude? Consider it done.

520.423.4900 520.423.4900

foothillsbank.com foothillsbank.com Member FDIC Member FDIC

1433 N. Pinal Avenue, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 1433 N. Pinal Avenue, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 Client:

Foothills Bank

Live Area: N/A

Publication:

ROX! Magazine

Trim: 3.85” (w) x 10.375” (h) Art Director:

Insertion Date: May/2014 Client: Foothills Bank

Scale: 100% Actual Size Live Area: N/A

Creative Director: B. Pruet

C. Matzk

Account Mgr: R. Walsh Creative Director: B. Pruet

JOB NUMBER: FHB-008 FILE Grande, NAME: Publication: ROX!N. Magazine Trim: 3.85”FHB_Suit-3.85x10.375_RoxMag_May-14 (w)AZ x 10.375” C. Matzk 1433 Pinal Avenue, Casa 85122(h) Art Director: Insertion Date: May/2014

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R. Walsh

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Special Section: Access Arizona

WEALTH

Financial Distress?

Bankruptcy gives financially distressed persons and businesses financial relief from burdensome debts.

by Ed Van Vianen, Attorney for future effort, unhampered by the pressure and discouragement of preexisting debt.

This goal is accomplished through the bankruptcy “discharge,” which releases debtors from personal liability from specific debts and prohibits creditors from ever taking any action against the debtor to collect those debts.

Bankruptcy Proceedings

W

hen I tell people that one of my areas of practice is bankruptcy, they sometimes ask me for basic information about the bankruptcy process. In this article, I give a brief explanation of bankruptcy.

Historical Background Article I, Section 8, of the United States Constitution authorizes Congress to enact “uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies.”

The Bankruptcy Code, which is codified as Title 11 of the United States Code and has been amended several times since its enactment, is the uniform federal law that governs all bankruptcy cases.

A fundamental goal of bankruptcy laws is to give debtors a financial “fresh start” from burdensome debts. The U.S. Supreme Court made this point about the purpose of the bankruptcy law in its 1934 decision in Local Loan Co. v. Hunt: [I]t gives to the honest but unfortunate debtor ... a new opportunity in life and a clear field

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Bankruptcy cases are heard in bankruptcy courts, and there is a bankruptcy court for each judicial district in the country. Each state has one or more districts. In Arizona there is one district, with bankruptcy court locations in Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, Flagstaff and Bullhead City.

The court official with decision-making power over federal bankruptcy cases is the bankruptcy judge, a judicial officer of the U.S. district court. The bankruptcy judge may decide any matter connected with a bankruptcy case, such as eligibility to file or whether a debtor should receive a discharge of debts.

Much of the bankruptcy process is administrative, however, and is conducted away from the courthouse. In cases under Chapters 7, 12 or 13, and sometimes in Chapter 11 cases (all described below), this administrative process is carried out by a trustee who is appointed to oversee the case.

A debtor’s involvement with the bankruptcy judge is usually very limited. For example, a typical Chapter 7 debtor will not see the bankruptcy judge unless

an objection is raised in the case.

Usually, the only formal proceeding at which a debtor must appear is the meeting of creditors. This meeting is informally called a “341 meeting.” Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code requires that the debtor attend this meeting so that creditors, who often do not show up at the meeting, can question the debtor about debts and property.

Types of Bankruptcy

The most common types of bankruptcy are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 (for individuals) and Chapter 11 (primarily for businesses).

A Chapter 7 “liquidation” contemplates an orderly, court-supervised procedure by which a trustee takes over the assets of the debtor’s estate, reduces them

to cash, and makes distributions to creditors, subject to (a) the debtor’s right to retain certain exempt property and (b) the rights of secured creditors.

Because there is usually little or no nonexempt property in most Chapter 7 cases, there may not be an actual liquidation of the debtor’s assets. These cases are called “no-asset cases.” In most Chapter 7 cases, if the debtor is an individual, he or she receives a discharge that releases him or her from personal liability for certain dischargeable debts. Also, the Bankruptcy Code requires the application of a “means test” to determine whether individual consumer debtors qualify for relief under Chapter 7. If such a debtor’s income is in excess of certain thresholds, the debtor may not be eligible for Chapter 7 relief.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Bankruptcy May Be Your Path to a Fresh Start A Chapter 13 bankruptcy, often called a “wage-earner reorganization,” is designed for an individual debtor who has a regular source of income. Chapter 13 allows the debtor to keep property and propose a plan to repay creditors over time (usually three to five years). Chapter 13 is also used by consumer debtors who do not qualify for Chapter 7 relief under the means test mentioned above.

The court either approves (confirms) or disapproves the debtor’s repayment plan, depending on whether the plan meets the Bankruptcy Code’s requirements for confirmation. If the plan is confirmed, the Chapter 13 debtor makes payments to creditors, through the trustee, based on the debtor’s anticipated income over the life of the plan. Unlike Chapter 7, in a Chapter 13 the debtor does not receive an immediate discharge of debts; before the discharge is received, the debtor must complete the payments required under the plan. While the plan is in effect, the debtor is protected from lawsuits, garnishments and other creditor actions.

Another type of reorganization, Chapter 11, ordinarily is used by businesses and other commercial enterprises that wish to continue operating a business and repay creditors through a plan of reorganization. The court ultimately confirms or disapproves the plan of reorganization.

Under a confirmed plan, the debtor can reduce its debts by repaying some of its obligations and discharging others. The debtor can also terminate burdensome contracts and leases, recover

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

assets, and rescale its operations in order to return to profitability.

Under Chapter 11, the debtor normally goes through a period of consolidation and emerges with a reduced debt load and a reorganized business.

There are less common forms of bankruptcy, including these: • Chapter 12 provides debt relief to family farmers and fishermen with regular income. The process under Chapter 12 is very similar to that of Chapter 13.

• Chapter 9 provides essentially for reorganization of counties, cities, towns, villages, taxing districts, municipal utilities, and school districts. It is much like a reorganization under Chapter 11.

• Chapter 15 deals with cases of cross-border insolvency. It applies, for example, where a debtor or its property is subject to the laws of the United States and one or more foreign countries.

Questions?

This broad introduction to bankruptcy offers general information only. Anyone considering bankruptcy or who has questions about dealing with debt problems should seek professional assistance to gain a full understanding of their options, including alternatives to bankruptcy.

Ed van Vianen is an attorney at the Fitzgibbons Law Offices in Casa Grande (520-426-3824). He assists clients in the area of bankruptcy, real estate, employment law and general civil litigation.

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Access Arizona - Looking Forward with Jim Dinkle (cont) continued from page 36... full of owls. And they didn't want any part of that creative class.

Now, the recession changed that because the cities and urban areas and even the rural communities that really survived the recession and even prospered in some cases like Austin, Texas and Seattle and so forth were the communities that embraced the creative class.I would challenge you 10 years from now to see if there's not more Community Wealth Building going on, too.

So that's one way I think people could help me: accept this paradigm shift. You know, maybe we are never going to be like a West Valley community that has maybe 20 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space. But on the other hand let’s take care of what we have and build on that.

GC LIVING: Are you saying that Community Wealth Building is a way to help attract the creative class?

JIM DINKLE: Absolutely it is. I think that when the creative class of people see that they can come to a community and it's a community that helps them succeed and thrive, and networks them and accepts them, then yes, I think it is. Yes, I am saying that.

GC LIVING: When you make your presentation, will you be able to give us a presentation about Community Wealth Building in upcoming issues?

JIM DINKLE: Absolutely! You know the thing about Community Wealth Building, and this is the push back that I get from traditional economic developers. I am not a traditional economic developer and I said that to the search committee at that conference table. Corporations are usually incentivized and sometimes communities don't know really what the true cost, the hard cost of that really is, until 5 or 10 years down the road, when they don't see the revenues coming in that they thought. Community Wealth Building says “don't leverage those incentives. Use those dollars locally to take care of what you already have. To grow entrepreneurship, to promote innovation and help strengthen the institutions that are your anchors in the community.”

GC LIVING: In terms of Community Wealth Building, would something like the proposed multi-generation recreation center

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be on that list? Has Access Arizona taken a position on that?

JIM DINKLE: We have not taken a public position on it. I personally feel like that is an enhancement to the quality of life. I feel that that is something that will increase property values and I think in most communities this size nationally, facilities like that are a norm. They are almost to be expected. When site selectors come here, they expect to see that. And so yeah I'm a huge advocate for that. And there's

“Corporations are usually incentivized and sometimes communities don’t know really what the true cost, the hard cost of that really is, until 5 or 10 years down the road, when they don’t see the revenues coming in that they thought.

Community Wealth Building says “don’t leverage those incentives.

Use those dollars locally to take care of what you already have.” this debate too right now but I think it's a change for the better to have a facility like that. Why not?

GC LIVING: And bike trails and micro breweries ... and opera houses?!

JIM DINKLE: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

GC LIVING: Do you have any big sexy announcements coming up that you would

like to give us a scoop on?

JIM DINKLE: No, (laughing) I mean you know we are working on several major projects, um, but there's nothing really, and I say we, it's not just Access Arizona. I hope that we work as part of a bigger team especially with the Arizona Commerce Authority.

And we get good support I think from the greater Phoenix Economic Council and GPEC as well.

But there are some projects that are hanging out there that could come to fruition that could be a really big bang. Obviously I like that. But you know economic development, it's a funny field. I may get a call today or tomorrow from somebody wanting to invest 300 million dollars. Or, you know, what was really interesting, Rock? Two years ago when we put ourselves out there for Tesla's consideration, and lo and behold we got all kinds of earned media nationally as being one of the five preferred sites that Tesla really narrowed it down to. We didn't get the project but again we did earn or we did get thousands of dollars in earned media just having our name in print. And I think that caught the attention of quite a few site selectors.

GC LIVING: Earlier you touched on the shift in politics. What direction do you see us moving?

JIM DINKLE: Well (laughs) you know in the three years I've been here I've seen it move, you know, there were still a few Democrats around when I got here (laughs). I think there's one or two left now. But I think with the 2016 presidential election coming up, the number of US senate seats that are open, the Congressional races next year, there could be a shift back, towards the middle or even slightly to the left I think as well. Depending on, if Clinton or Bernie Sanders get elected president or Donald Trump gets elected president.

I think we're kind of in a transitional period right now. When I lived in Chicago we always used to say Dupage County, which was the western suburb, we always used to say it was Cook county turned inside out, because all of the Republicans lived in Dupage County and the Democrats lived in Cook County. And you've kind of seen Pinal county turn itself inside out the last 10 years. Would you say that's a good assessment a fair assessment? And I don't

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

know if there was, you know, what kind of swing there would be back either way.

I do think as an economic developer and as a resident that people are highly alarmed. They’re becoming engaged in the state of public education in Arizona.

That has a huge effect on economic development. And people from outside of here wanting to move their families here if they have kids that are going to go to public schools. You know its been in-vogue for the last 10 or so years to hear people say “no new taxes”. Well, people may become a little bit accepting of some, I stress the word some, new taxes if they feel like it's going to public education. And that would increase Arizona's ranking from near the bottom to somewhere maybe towards the middle or towards the top again; in a perfect world. I see that kind of a shift coming.

And I just really think that people need to let their voices be heard when it comes to public education.

That has a huge effect on economic development.

GC LIVING: I'll get this question on tape just to have it if I need it in the future if for no other reason: I see a lot of people in social media comment we need "ABC" company to come here, but the city won't let them.

That's not a true statementJIM DINKLE: That's not a true statement. That is not true and that's usually somebody just shooting from the hip that says that.

GC LIVING: Like Trader Joe's or Sprouts or a roller rink or what ever.

JIM DINKLE: Well, for someone like Sprouts there’s just not the critical mass here that that they really need for their stores.

GC LIVING: They have a specific demographic pattern and we do not fit that pattern, yet.

JIM DINKLE: Yep, yep that's exactly rightGC LIVING: You were involved in Harbor FreightJIM DINKLE: Well Harbor Freight we were very involved inGC LIVING: Um-hmm.

JIM DINKLE: At Access Arizonawe very quietly go about our businesses, we do not trumpet our success and maybe that's a fault of ours. But that Harbor Freight site was a blight for several years GC LIVING: Sommers Glass originally owned the building, but sold it…

JIM DINKLE: It was a blight that had turned

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

into an eyesore.. We became very engaged with the multiple owners that were invested in that building from up in the Valley.

We worked through their attorney and I say we, it was Luke Jackson who worked in our office principally who did it. But that was one corner we wanted to see get cleaned up. So we again, we worked through Harbor Freight with the real estate person representing them to get them in there to get that corner cleaned up. So, anyway that that's been a good success of ours, Harbor

“We have a good work force. When you look at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Louis Sanchez out there will tell you that out of something like 154 distribution centers that one ranks third in productivity. That’s a testament to their workers!”

Freight. You know, we try not to get as involved in retail, but let me tell you, as I said earlier retail's a good barometer for how your economy is going, like when Best Buy and, uh, who else moved out of the promenade? Old Navy yeah, well they're changing their business model.

GC LIVING: Yeah, who isn’t?!

JIM DINKLE: Yeah, but when these people left, that's a barometer. But, on the other hand, when you see who's coming back in, that tells you things are okay in my opinion. So, but it's interesting none the less.

Retailers do contact us, we work with them but most often we try to turn them over to the local economic developer. Uh like here

in Casa Grande or you know in Coolidge or whoever else.

I just want to touch on a couple of other things real quick too. Everybody here, you know, wrings their hands about our work force. Well, that is not just a Pinal county problem that is a national problem. You go to Dubois County Indiana, which has the lowest unemployment rate of Indiana's 92 counties, and guess what they'll tell you their worst problem is?

GC LIVING: Work force.

GC LIVING: They can't find anyJIM DINKLE: Well, they can't find any work force (Laughs) because they have low unemployment. But they'll say well, those that are unemployed they need training and blah-blah-blah. And you know I was reading a study from I can't remember the community in New Hampshire that Dartmouth College is in, but anyway, it was talking about the untrained work force. Now again, there's another county that had extremely low unemployment, but which also, has a trained work force at Dartmouth College.

They have Plymouth State College, there they have business incubators/accelerators and yet they are still talking about work force. So I don't want people in Pinal County to feel bad. We have a good work force.

When you look at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Louis Sanchez out there will tell you that out of something like 154 distribution centers that one ranks third in productivity.

That's a testament to their workers!

GC LIVING: Anything else you want to get worked into this? Any high concept or defining statement or...?

JIM DINKLE: I think we get excellent support and collaboration from the Arizona Commerce Authority, I do want to state that.

I have worked in 5 states nationally and promoted 7 states nationally in economic development, and I have never seen a state economic development agency as really proactive and as engaging as the Arizona Commerce Authority is. And I say that unequivocally. Theybring us prospects but they are Johnny-on-the-spot if we have a need for technical assistance. I just cannot sing their praises loud enough and that's something I think more people need to know about. Because, again, I think a lot of government agencies get knocked but they're really doing their job. 

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Special Section: Access Arizona

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY

accessarizona.org

AAr/Thompson Designer, Inc. Bill Thompson 1237 S. Val Vista Drive, Mesa, AZ 85204 480-802-2010 bthompson@thompsondesigners.com

APS David Bentler 400 N. 5th Street, MS 8010, Phoenix, AZ 85004 602.250.3613 david.bentler@aps.com

Arizona House of Representatives TJ Shope 1700 W. Washington Street, Ste H, Phoenix, AZ 85007 602.926.3012, tshope@azleg.gov

Access Arizona Foundation Jim Dinkle 540 N. Camino Mercado, #2, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836.6868 jdinkle@accessarizona.org

Arizona Commerce Authority Keith Watkins 333 N. Central Ave., Suite 1900, Phoenix, AZ 85004 602.845.1278 keithw@azcommerce.com

BeDillons Restaurant Michael Jackson 800 N. Park Avenue, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836.2045 cactusincg@hotmail.com

ADA Travel Hope Wallace 711 E. Cottonwood, Ste A, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836.7411 hwallace@adatravel.net

Arizona Commerce Authority David Drennon 333 N. Central Ave., Suite 1900, Phoenix, AZ 85004 602.845.1278 davidd@azcommerce.com

Al & Riley’s Air Conditioning Cecil Kinser PO Box 10129, Casa Grande, AZ 85130 520.836.8450 clcckinser@yahoo.com

Arizona House of Representatives Frank Pratt 1700 W. Washington Street, Ste. H, Phoenix, AZ 85007 602.926.5761 fpratt@azleg.gov

Bank of the West Kimberly Saxberg 260 W. Central Avenue, Coolidge, AZ 85128 520.494.3596 kimberly.saxberg@ bankofthewest.com

American Family Insurance Jan Hobbs 275 E. Cottonwood Lane, Ste 1, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.423-0122 jlignoul@amfam.com American Family Insurance Ken Waddill 1269 N. Promenade Pkwy, Ste 127, Casa Grande, AZ 85194 520.836.7004 KWADDILL@amfam.com

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Arizona Tech Council Steven Zylstra 2 N. Central Ave Ste 750, Phoenix, AZ 85004 602.343.8324 szylstra@aztechcouncil.org Associated Architects, Inc. Brian Johns 6 East Palo Verde Street, Suite 1, Gilbert, AZ 85296 480.964.8451 brian@associated-architects.com

Banner Casa Grande Medical Center Rona Curphy 1800 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.381.6519 rcurphy@cgrmc.org Brutinel Plumbing & Elec., Inc. Wes Baker PO Box 12100, Casa Grande, AZ 85130, 520.836.5802 brutinel@cgmailbox.com Bull Moose Tube Larry Weniger 1001 N. Jefferson Avenue, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836.3455 lweniger@bullmoosetube.com

Canada Arizona Business Council Glenn Williamson 3104 E. Camelback Road, Ste 144, Phoenix, AZ 85016 602.852.5575 gwilliamson@canaz.net Casa Grande Elementary Schools Frank Davidson 220 W. Kortsen Road, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836.2111 Superintendent@cgelem.k12.az.us Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Donovan Kramer PO Box 15002, Casa Grande, AZ 85130 520.423.8611 dkramerjr@trivalleycentral.com Central Arizona College Chris Wodka 8470 N. Overfield Road, Coolidge, AZ 85128 520.494-5460 chris.wodka@centralaz.edu Central Arizona College Evelyn Casuga 8470 N. Overfield Road, Coolidge, AZ 85128 520-494-5444 Evelyn.Casuga@centralaz.edu

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Special Section: Access Arizona

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY Central Arizona College Jenni Gonzales 8470 N. Overfield Road, Coolidge, AZ 85128 520.494.5420 jenni.gonzales@centralaz.edu

City of Casa Grande Ralph Varela 510 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.421.8600 rvarela@casagrandeaz.gov

Colliers International Kim Soule 2390 E. Camelback Road, Suite 100, Phoenix, AZ 85016 602.222.5047 kim.soule@colliers.com

Consultant Cindy Sutton 11461 W. Waverly Drive, Casa Grande, AZ 85195 520.705.2359 cinsutto@yahoo.com

Chasse Real Estate & Financial Group George Chasse PO Box 15267, Phoenix, AZ 85969 602.952.2200 gchasserealty@yahoo.com

City of Coolidge Jill Dusenberry 130 W. Central Avenue, Coolidge, AZ 85128 520.723.6013 jilld@coolidgeaz.com

Commercial Properties, Inc. Sarge Glenn 36 S. 29th Place, Gilbert, AZ 85295 480.214.1126 sglenn@cpiaz.com

Consultant Evelyn Casuga 12769 W. Martin Road, Casa Grande, AZ 85194 520.705.8628 stableycasuga@earthlink.net

City of Casa Grande Dick Powell 510 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520. 421-8600 dpowell@casagrandeaz.gov City of Casa Grande Jim Thompson 510 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.421.8600 jimt@ci.casa-grande.az.us City of Casa Grande Karl Montoya 510 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.421.8600 kmontoya@casagrandeaz.gov City of Casa Grande Mary Kortsen 510 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.421.8602 mkortsen@casagrandeaz.gov City of Casa Grande Matt Herman 510 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.421.8600 mherman@casagrandeaz.gov City of Casa Grande Mayor Bob Jackson 510 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.421.8600 bjackson@casagrandeaz.gov

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

Consultant Ole Solberg 508 E. Barrus Place, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836.0270 ole@solbergengineering.com

City of Coolidge Robert Flatley 130 W. Central Avenue, Coolidge, AZ 85128 520.723.5361 bobf@coolidgeaz.com City of Eloy Harvey Krauss 628 N. Main Street, Eloy, AZ 85131 520.466.2578 hkrauss@ci.eloy.az.us City of Eloy J.W. Tidwell 628 N. Main Street, Eloy, AZ 85131 520-510-9595 jtidwell@Ci.Eloy.AZ.US City of Eloy Joel Belloc 628 N. Main Street, Eloy AZ 85131 520.466.9201 jbelloc@Ci.Eloy.AZ.US City of Eloy Jon Vlaming 1137 W. Houser Road, Eloy, AZ 85131 520.466.2578 jvlaming@Ci.Eloy.AZ.US City of Eloy Joseph Nagy 628 N. Main Street, Eloy, AZ 85131 520.464.3407 jnagy@ci.eloy.az.us

Community Action Human Resources Agency 109 N Sunshine Blvd, Eloy, AZ 85131 (520) 466-1112 cahra@cahrapinal.org

Community Action Human Resources Agency (CAHRA) is a nonprofit agency serving the needs of Pinal County limited income families in crisis by providing services including case management, assistance with utility payments and deposits, emergency shelter, food, home repairs including limited utility systems (electrical, water, gas) and weatherization. CAHRA is a United Way supported agency.

Commonwealth Dairy Angie Timm PO Box 12610, Casa Grande, AZ 85130, 520-316-4725 Angela.Timm@commonwealthdairy.com

Coolidge Chamber of Commerce Lynn Parsons 320 W. Central Avenue, Coolige, AZ 85128 520.723.3009 lparsons@coolidgechamber.org Coolidge Power Corporation, LLC Mark Zeibak PO Box 578, Coolidge, AZ 85128 520.723.7490 mark_zeibak@transcanada.com Cooper & Reuter Stephen R. Cooper 221 N. Florence Street, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836.8265 src@centralazlaw.com Corrections corp of America John Gluch 4945 W. Comanche Drive, Eloy, AZ 85131 520.705.2400 John.Gluch@cca.com County of Pinal Stephen Miller 820 E. Cottonwood Ln Building A., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.866.7401 steve.miller@pinalcountyaz.gov

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Special Section: Access Arizona

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY Crescent Electric Supply David Gale PO Box 3512, Casa Grande, AZ 85130 520.421.1808 dlgale@cesco.com

Foothills Bank Shea Nieto 1433 N. Pinal Avenue, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.423.4900 Shea.Nieto@foothillsbank.com

Henry & Horne, LLP Chuck Goodmiller 1115 E. Cottonwood Lane, Ste 100, Casa Grande, AZ 85222 520.836.8201 chuckg@hhcpa.com

Electrical District #2 Tom Martin PO Box 548, Coolidge, AZ 85228 520.723.7741 tmartin@ed2.com

Francisco Grande Hotel & Golf Resort Tim Alai 12648 Gila Bend Hwy., Casa Grande, AZ 85293 520.381.8118 talai@grandesports.com

Hexcel Corporation Judy Brungs PO Box 15006, Casa Grande, AZ 85130 520.836.8761 Judy.Brungs@hexcel.com

Eloy Chamber of Commerce Mark Benner 305 N. Stuart Street, Eloy, AZ 85131 520.466.3411 info@eloychamber.com

Franklin Foods Rocco Cardinale 1221 W Gila Bend Hwy, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.316.3757 rcardinale@franklinfoods.com

DBA Construction Jeanne Sapon PO Box 63035, Phoenix, AZ 85082 602.442.0408 jsapon@dbaconstruction.net

Elrus USA Ltd. George Schlemmer 924 N. Tweedy Road, Eloy, AZ 85131 520.466.1171 gschlemmer@elrus.com

Frito-Lay, Inc. Timothy Kinsinger 1450 W. Maricopa Hwy., Casa Grande, AZ 85193 520.876.3128 timothy.d.kinsinger@pepsico.com

Deputy District Director Blanca Varela 211 N. Florence Street, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.316.0839 blanca.varela@mail.house.gov

Empire Agriculture Bill Scott 8901 W. Hwy 297, Casa Grande, AZ 85194 800-769-1150 bill.scott@empire-cat.com

Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc. Matt Herrington PO Box 11888, Casa Grande, AZ 85222 520.882.2451 matth@gedaz.com

Maricopa Chamber of Commerce Maricopa Chamber 44870 W. Hathaway Ave., Suite 5, Maricopa, AZ 85139 520.568-9573 marla@maricopachamber.org

Development Planning & Financing Group Carter Froelich 3302 East Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ 85018 602.381.3226 carter.froelich@dpfg.com

First American Credit Union Anthony Walker 1001 Pinal Avenue, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836-8848 Tony.Walker@firstamerican.org

Great Western Bank Jennifer Alai 1300 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836.4666 jennifer.alai@greatwesternbank.com

Maricopa City Council Bridger Kimball 39700 W. Civic Center Plaza, Maricopa, AZ 85138 520.568-9098 bridger.kimball@maricopa-az.gov

Fitzgibbons Law Office, P.L.C. Denis Fitzgibbons PO Box 11208, Casa Grande, AZ 85130 520.426.3824 denis@fitzgibbonslaw.com

Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce Helen Neuharth 575 Marshall Street, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.836.2125 president@casagrandechamber.org

Maricopa City Council Marvin Brown 39700 W. Civic Center Plaza, Maricopa, AZ 85138 520.316.6829 marvin.brown@maricopa-az.gov

Crop Production Services Michael Charles 210 S. Pacific Street, Coolidge, AZ 85228 520.723.1000 michael.charles@cpsagu.com Dayton Company Industrial Real Estate Craig Dayton 4860 W. Geronimo Street, Chandler, AZ 85226 480.940.9666 daytoncompany@cox.net

Dignity Health Dr. Rick Swearingen 4545 E. Chandler Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85048 480-728-4075 rick.swearingen@dignityhealth.org Discovery Building Companies Inc. Morris Mennenga 56 N. Agua Fria Lane, Casa Grande, AZ 85194 520.560.1010 morrism1999@gmail.com 48

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Edward Jones Jack Stonebraker 623 E. Florence Blvd., Ste C, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.426.9499 jack.stonebraker@edwardjones. com

Florence Copper Stacy Gramazio 1575 W. Hunt Hwy., Florence, AZ 85132 520.374.3984 stacygramazio@florencecopper. com

Hansen Engineering & Surveying Taylor Hansen 115 S. Main Street, Coolidge, AZ 85128, 520.723.3261 Taylor@HansenSurvey.com

Land Advisors Organization Kirk McCarville 211 North Florence Street, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.251.0348 kmccarville@landadvisors.com Long Realty Tami Cubel 251 E Cottonwood Ln, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.251.5500 TamiC@longrealty.com

Mediterra Bakhouse Nick 226 S Main St, C oolidge, AZ 85128 520.723.1853 nick@mediterrabakehouse.com

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Special Section: Access Arizona

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY National VitaminCompany Inc. Chantel Garcia 1145 W Gila Bend Hwy, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.426.3109 chantelgarcia19@aol.com

Pinal County Lynn Hurley PO Box 827, Florence, AZ 85132 520.866.5382 Lynn.Hurley@pinalcountyaz.gov

Nice Creative Robyn Reynolds 4645 South Lkeshore Drive # 16, Tempe, AZ 85282 480.731.9626 rreynolds@nicecreative.com

Pinal Land Holdings Matthew McCormick 7702 E. Doubletree Ranch Rd., Ste 300, Scottsdale, AZ 85258

Northern Arizona University Bobbie Crouse 8470 N. Overfield Road, Coolidge, AZ 85128 602.776.4694 bobbie.crouse@nau.edu

Quemetco Metals Limited, Inc. Larry Webb 602 Swanson Street, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.426.9385 lwebb@quemetcometals.com

Nussbaum, Gillis & Dinner, P.C. David McCarville 420 W. Kortsen Road, Ste 201, Casa Grande, AZ 85254 520.316.0610 dmccarville@ngdlaw.com

Retired HR Paddock 1208 N. Orlando Drive, Coolidge, AZ 85128 520.483.3303 hrpaddock57@gmail.com

Sun Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization Sharon Mitchell 211 N Florence Street, Ste. 103, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.705.5153 smitchell@scmpo.org

Otto Environmental Systems Dwayne Gibson 901 N. Tweedy Road, Eloy, AZ 85131 520.466.3410 dgibson@otto-usa.com

Robson Communities Peter Gerstman 9532 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, AZ 85248 480.895.4297 peter.gerstman@robson.com

Sun Life Family Health Travis Robinette 865 N. Arizola Road, Casa Grande, Az 85122 520.381.0303 travisr@slfhc.org

Walton International Ed Hadley 4800 N. Scottsdale Rd Ste 4000, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 480.586.9370 ehadley@walton.com

PhoenixMart Patrick Welch 7047 E. Greenway Pkwy #190, Scottsdale, AZ 85254 602.663.9219 pwelch@azsourcing.com

ROX Group Rock Earle 442 W. Kortsen, Ste. 101, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 480.895.4297 peter.gerstman@robson.com

Suz’s Cruises Suzie Miller 43631 W. Elizabeth Avenue, Maricopa, AZ 85138 520.509.4092 suz@suzscruises.com

Wells Fargo David Wier 305 E. Main Street, Ste 305, Mesa, AZ 85201 480.644.8493 david.a.wier@wellsfargo.com

Pinal County Greg Stanley PO Box 709, Florenze, AZ 85132 520.866.6211 gregory.stanley@pinalcountyaz. gov

Saint Holdings LLC Jackob Andersen 7702 E. Doubletree Ranch Rd., Ste 220, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 480.209.9365 jandersen@fsifarms.com

SW Gas Andy Rhea 3401 E. Gas Road Tucson, AZ 85726 520.794-6430 andy.rhea@swgas.com

Santa Cruz Village John Deakin 4009 E. Desert Crest Drive, Paradise Valley, AZ 85235 602.955.0530 johnsr@jdfinancialllc.com

Title Security Agency Thomas Bagnall 421 E. Cottonwood, AZ 85122 520.426.4610 thomas.bagnall@titlesecurity.com

Western State Bank Duane Wallace 1412 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, AZ 85132 520.836.1727 duane.wallace@westernbanks. com

Pinal County John Ellinwood PO Box 709, Florenze, AZ 85132 520.866.6367 john.ellinwood@pinalcountyaz. gov

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

MMcCormick@pinalland.com

Smiling Dog Landscapes Gold Canyon, AZ (no address given) 480.288.8749 tom@smilingdoglandscapes.com

Trammell Crow Company Cullen P. Mahoney 2231 East Camelback Road, Ste 102, Phoenix, AZ 85016 602.635.4460 cmahoney@trammellcrow.com

SRP Desert Station Dennis Gerlach MS DBS100, POB 52025, Phoenix, AZ 85072 602.236.2004 dennis.gerlach@srpnet.com

Triple D Dairy, Inc. Dennis Dugan 2033 N. Overfield Road, Casa Grande, AZ 85194 520.836.3063 dugan@cgmailbox.com

Steve M. Daley Steve Daley 11660 E. Windrose Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85259 480.361.1642 daleysteve@cox.net

Union Pacific Railroad Zoe Richmond 631 S. 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034 602.322.2568 zrichmond@up.com Wal-Mart Distribution Center #7013 Louie Sanchez 868 W. Peters Road, Casa Grande, AZ 85193 520.836.4501

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The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 23... issue is the proposed community center and a final disposition of the old high school auditorium. The voters approved the construction of the Community Center in a bond election in 2006. It was always intended to be the last project to be completed after the new Public Safety Building, Fire Station, a second library and several other smaller projects. Over the years several things changed and the Council is just now moving forward with this project. The community center needs to be completed to allow us to deal with the old Auditorium because our Community Services Department occupies part of the building.

GC LIVING: What is the worst thing that happened to – or worst failure of – the city government process while you were mayor?

MAYOR JACKSON: One of the challenges with being on any board is it takes a majority to do anything.

So while you may have a good idea and think this is what we need to do, if you can’t drag three other people along with you it isn’t going to be done. And it’s compounded when it’s a controversial issue and you have people who are diametrically opposed on the other side. And, certainly as you look at some of the things that we’ve voted on over the years, I think the council generally gets along really well with each other or really good about not holding no votes against each other . And I can only think of one time when I was on the short end of a four-two vote and I frankly don’t even remember what it was. But, oh I do it was a land use issue. And it was a weird set up where they needed a super majority of the council, and it ended up being a four two vote and they needed five people, and the seventh person wasn’t ... I mean it was ...

GC LIVING: Was that the car crusher by any chance?

MAYOR JACKSON: No, no the car crusher never made it to us. They kind of fell apart before they got there, you know? But, super frustrating, and while it’s a good mix of council ... I mean we’ve got young viewpoints, we’ve got old viewpoints, we’ve got conservative people, we’ve got liberal people, we’ve got women for the first time in a long time, we’ve got small business people, we’ve got a non-profit person.

We’re going through an issue right now

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on this employee PTO [Personal Time Off] thing. Oh my God, you know we have spent hours talking about PTO. And I’ve managed people before so I understand that if you manage a lot of people you’re not going to keep all of them happy all the time, that’s just the way it works. So you have to do what you think is right for the most people at work in that organization.

We have a small group of people that have gotten to a couple of council people who have said, “This PTO plan is the worst thing in the world.” You talk to most people un-

“...one of the things I’ve learned about being the mayor: four votes wins.” der the age of forty, they would much rather work under a PTO program than the kind of program that we have. We had a traditional, government-operated plan where you get eight hours of vacation and eight hours of sick leave a month. You can only use sick leave if you’re sick and everything else you have to use vacation.

And the younger generation looks at total time off. We had a police officer last night who got up and spoke to the issue and he said, “I’ve been with the department nine years. I’m a huge supporter of the PTO program; I’ve got four kids at home. My worst nightmare is if something happens to me and I don’t have enough sick leave to be able to recover from whatever the problem is...”

And he said, “Not only that, when they’re sick I have to take a day of vacation when it’s my turn to watch them.”

So I think that the vast majority of the employees want it. The industry is going to PTO, but we’ve had a couple of council people that are just out of it, that they don’t like PTO. I think one of them doesn’t fully understand the difference, and I think the other one is really catering to that small group of employees that are saying, “We don’t like this as a plan.” And I think at least in my case, we have fifty thousand residents that we’re responsible to. We have four hundred city employees who we try to do the best job we can for, and overwhelmingly, our em-

ployees said, “We like this PTO program, would you like to do this PTO program?” We had a handful of people that said, “We don’t like it, we want more.” And that’s what was up for two months, just frustrating.

GC LIVING: Okay, perfect set up for this question. On any controversial issue that ever comes before the council, invariably there was one council member who gets press.

The newspaper runs a story with his opinion, his picture, his name, pull quotes, highlighted elsewhere in the article, continuations, and yet I don’t see any of the other council members ever being quoted in the paper nor the mayor. Why is that and do you think that would help?

MAYOR JACKSON: I can’t speak to why the story doesn’t quote everybody; you know I don’t own the newspaper. So I don’t know what makes them tick. My style as a mayor is that I let all of the council members ask their questions first. And if I had the same question, I’m not going to ask it again. So consequently, a lot of the time when we’re having a discussion, my questions have been answered. It’s time to vote, if I need to be persuasive about an argument I’ll engage at that point. So that’s probably one of the reasons why you don’t see me quoted in the papers as often as others.

GC LIVING: So the faction that looks to the public like it’s the one that gets more press doesn’t really prevail very often. But the reasonable part generally sets the directions, but never, ever gets any press?

MAYOR JACKSON: Yeah, let me tell you though… one of the things I’ve learned about being the mayor: four votes wins.

If I’m pretty sure that there are three votes that are in favor of the way I think I want to go, I want to call for the vote and do it, because if you continue to discuss it you run the risk of having that four-three vote become a three-four vote. And, you know people ask all the time, you know, what’s different? There is no difference between being the mayor and being a council member. The only difference is you get to run the meeting. And so, if you see that the issue is, we’re done talking about it, and you know it’s a four-three vote, why continue to talk about it? Vote it and move on. We don’t have a lot of four-three votes but we do have them occasionally.

GC LIVING: In your opinion what’s the worst

continued on page 60...

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Associates in Pediatric & Internal Medicine Michael P. Ridge, M.D., A.B.I.M. Darryl R. Brown, M.D. LaTrecia M. Herring, M.D., F.A.A.P., A.B.I.M. Douglas E. Parkin, M.D., F.A.A.P. Natalie A. Teng, M.D. Craig W. Connor, PA-C Kevin G. Hall, PA-C Denise C. Sarsam, RN, MSN, FNP-C C. Marlene Hoeft, RN, MSN, FNP-C Derral E. Hawthorne, PA-C Kelsie D. Pate, RN, MSN, FNP-C 560 N Camino Mercado, Suite 7 (520) 836-5538 Casa Grande, AZ 85122 (800) 895-5538 www.cottonwoodmedical.com Fax (520) 876-0878 Accepting New Patients

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www.desertskydentalaz.com THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

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Special Section: Women in Business

Women Business in

WOMEN MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON LEADERSHIP

by Elaine Earle

Women have made significant progress in education, earnings and workplace opportunity in the past 60 years. As women become more of a permanent feature in our workplace, they are also joining the ranks of leaders of corporations and of their own companies.

Companies that have women on their boards or in corporate leadership generate value to their corporations by broadening market vision, enhancing board dynamics, inspiring female stockholders and improving corporate reputation. Women oversee over a significant percentage of direct consumer spending,

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own a significant stake in public stock, and make up half of the talent pool. Women leaders are being seen by an increasing number of employers as an untapped source of talent, experience and senior-management leadership.

Here in the Golden Corridor, we have a number of women in “chief� positions either as entrepreneurs, in institutions or in corporations; at the hospital, com mu n it y col le ge, lo c a l s c ho ol s, p a rk s a nd recreation, service business, banks and credit unions, medical professions and in our governments.

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

Special Section: Women in Business

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

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Special Section: Women in Business

Elaine Earle

Publisher & Chief Of Operations And Finance Golden Corridor Living Magazine 520-509-1000 • Cfo@Raxxdirect.com

Bea Lueck

General Manager And Editor-In-Chief Golden Corridor Living Magazine 520-509-1000 • Bea@Raxxdirect.com These ladies are often referred to by the CEO as Thelma & Louise. It hasn’t been determined yet who is Thelma and who is Louise but you never know what sort of invention will come out when you pair these two ladies together. One will come up with an idea at midnight and be too tired to act on it the next day and the other will get right to implementing it in the morning with a twist of flair. Invention, mastery, knowledge, research, obsession and diligence is the name of the game in the Golden Corridor LIVING Magazine office.

The only hope is that they don’t drive of f the edge of the Grand Canyon together!

These ladies truly do enjoy and

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work tirelessly to bring the LIVING Magazine to the Golden Corridor.

They care about the advertisers, the content and what the readers think!

A normal Saturday morning for these ladies is sending phone pictures to each other of what the table looks like with the LIVING Magazine on it inside the tire repair place and the sneaky picture that they took of the person or child flipping through the magazine as they wait.

Nothing is too much for these ladies and they truly do care and strive for the best in our community!

Drop them a line someday and they will be so tickled that they may even print your comment in the magazine.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Special Section: Women in Business

Leadership: Women In Business Seeds of Hope Linda Irvin

Ruth Walters The daughter of immigrant parents from Norway and Sweden, Ruth watched her dad work hard to master the English language in night school. This ignited a passion in her as an adult to help others learn, so she became an elementary teacher. After retiring, Ruth found Seeds of Hope which enabled her to continue her passion to help others learn, this time as a volunteer. For the past two years, Ruth has spent her afternoons at the Mondo Anaya Community Center listening to children read and helping with homework.

Sandi Petersen

After working as a paralegal in the Northeast most of her life, Sandi and her husband retired and became an Arizona winter visitor in 1993.

A neighbor introduced her to Seeds of Hope and with time on her hands she decided to tr y volunteering. That was 16 years ago and she hasn’t stopped. Sandi has devoted a lot of time to helping Seeds of Hope in many ways including volunteering at the hot lunch and the after school program, preparing annual fundraising and volunteer dinners, m a k i n g c a n d y f o r si l e nt auctions, organizing turkey drives and Christmas shopping events. One of the highlights Sandi shared with her husband was being the force behind a Million Penny Drive which took nearly 5 years, but raised $10,000 for Seeds of Hope.

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

Linda has been an educator all of her life and traveled extensively to the Middle East to train teachers. As a member of First Presbyterian Church, she embraced the vision of giving people a hand up with the creation of Seeds of Hope in the early 1990’s. Since then Linda has served in numerous capacities for Seeds of Hope from being a board member for 9 years, to volunteering with the after school program, and is currently helping to develop a formal Advocacy program to broaden the base of supporters. Linda feels it’s important for everyone to give something back to our community using whatever talents God has given. While she has helped countless individuals over the years, she considers herself to have been helped the most.

Alice Parkin

Having a passion for helping t he sick, A lice enjoyed a career in nursing while raising a family. But being married to a doctor m ea n s t h i ng s d on’t slo w down for her in retirement.

She and her husband have operated the Stanfield free medical clinic twice a month si nce 2009. On any g iven clinic day volunteers see 30 – 50 patients. In addition, she currently serves as Seeds of Hope’s president of the board.

Alice believes if you meet the physical needs of people, they are more open to hearing about spiritual things. The investment she makes in the lives of so many associated with Seeds of Hope is priceless.

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Yang & Horsley Dentistry I’ve always loved art, but I never realized how important it was to my life story! When my mom graduated from high school, she wanted to major in fine arts. Her dad encouraged her to try dentistry, which had overlapping requirements with art. She changed her major to dentistr y, and fell in love - twice. She met my dad in dental school, and discovered her passion for craf ting beautif ul smiles. My parents started their dental practice in Casa Grande in 1985, and moved to our current location on Cottonwood Lane in 1994. As a young girl, I spent afternoons in the office, practicing tooth-brushing techniques on mouth models. In high school, I learned to work as a dental assistant. With my parents’ care, guidance, and focus on education, I also chose to become a dentist. And, like my mom, I met my husband in college. I introduced him to the dental field, and in 2008, we both graduated from Loma Linda University

School of Dentistry, which is known for faith-based values, focus on wholebody health, and emphasis on treating people with compassion. The motto at LLU is “Service is our Calling”, so in 2009, when the City’s CG Cares program challenged local business to give back to the community, I was excited to participate. Crafting changed my life again. We founded Spark a Smile, a free monthly gathering at our office, where we create handmade greeting cards to share joy in our community. We donate to hospitals, charities, and anyone else who might need a smile! I think it’s our serving hearts and creativity that make our dental practice unique. I’ve taken a break from private practice to care for my two young sons, but my mom, Julie, and husband, Phil, are still there, happily creating sparkling smiles, from our family to yours!

Find out more about our dental family and Spark a Smile by visiting www.casagrandedental.com.

Cathy Taylor, CRS, GRI, Associate Broker Coldwell Banker Rox Realty I have been ser ving the Casa Grande areas in real estate for almost 30 years since we moved h e r e f r o m V i r g i n i a i n 19 8 6.

Knowing that I was interested in the real estate industr y and while it was hot in July, I took my necessar y education hours to become an Arizona real estate agent. My desi re to ser ve my clients in the best possible way led me to continue my education by acquiring my GRI (Graduate of the Real Estate Institute) and CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) cer tifications. Now as the community is again on the cusp of growth it will also see a positive growth in real estate transactions

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from the resale market and new home sales. W het her you a re a buyer or a seller, please give me a call and let me assist and ser ve you with any of your real estate needs in Casa Grande and surrounding area. 520-560-2083

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Leadership: Women In Business Doris Helmich Ed.D. President, Central Arizona College D or i s He l m i c h E d.D., s e r v e d as interim president and CEO of Central Arizona College for less than a year before being selected from a nationwide pool of applicants as the college’s president in November 2012.

As president, Helmich is responsible for effective operation of the college through development of its st r ateg ic goa ls. She a lso i nst it utes long-r a nge pla n n i ng and development of instructional pro g r a m s, f i s c a l m a n agement, student services, human resources, community relations and resource development for the college’s future.

Helmich directs the development of the annual budget and serves as

an advisor to the Governing Board on educational matters and college operations.

Helmich joined Central Arizona College in 2001 as the director of student success, and also taught as an adjunct faculty member. In 2004 she became dean of students and chief student affairs officer, and held the title of vice president of student services prior to becoming interim president.

Before joining CAC, Helmich spent nearly a decade at Bryant College in Smithfield, R.I., where she served as assistant to the vice president of student affairs, an adjunct faculty member and the institution's first health educator.

Paula Leslie Mankel Mechanical

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

I was twelve when I started my first business. I had to pass a class to get my “license” to conduct business on Bolling AFB. You may be chuckling right now, but as a babysitter, I set my own schedule and agreed upon payment for my service. Based upon my experience, I could choose not to retain a client. To advertise for my business, I added my name to a list of licensed babysitters kept by the base, and relied on word of mouth.

I gotta say, I didn’t like my first business venture. But I liked making money, and I liked that strangers trusted me with possibly the most important thing in their life.

I c a n’t s a y I a l w a y s h a d t he e nt r epr e n e u r i a l b u g. Fo r M r s.

Tanner’s third grade class “I want to be when I grow up” assignment, I made a shadow box of lonely stick figure me sitting at a desk, pen in hand. I wanted to be a poet. That qu ic k l y c h a nge d to ne w sp ap e r reporter somewhere around fifth grade. My first real job was being a deejay for a local radio station. After

the station was sold and reformatted.

I went to work for TG&Y. I loved retail.

I worked as cashier, floor clerk, cash room attendant, and accounts receivable and payroll clerk. This job sparked my entrepreneurial spirit. I knew one day I wanted to be my own boss.

I still majored in jour nalism/ public relations at ASU because w riting w ill alw ays be my fi rst love, but I minored in marketing management. I deplored business school. And I wasn’t very good at it which made me second guess my dream of owning my own business.

After college, I went to work as office manager for a plumbing company, then an accounting firm, then a dental office. It was then I realized that most of those professors who were teaching me business had never owned their own. But, I knew I could.

A friend recently told me, “Life is not lived without some level of risk.”

Business owners are some of the biggest risk takers out there.

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Sue Pittullo, REALTOR® Coldwell Banker Rox Realty Sue is a Jesus lov ing cowg i rl, w i fe, mom, grandma, and busi ness woma n. Bor n i n Color ado she has a lw ay s b e en a ‘z on ie” at hea r t.

C a s a G r a n d e ’s s m a l l tow n atmosphere and welcoming residents won her heart in 1974 when she moved here to teach school at Stanfield.

Sue studied at Southern Color ado St ate Col lege (Colorado State University, P u e bl o, n o w) w h e r e sh e m e t h e r h u s b a n d R o y.

Graduating with a B. S. in E ducat ion a nd at tendi ng the University of Northern Colorado and Arizona State Universit y for a master’s

client needs a priorit y has blessed her with a successful real estate career in Pinal County.

If she is not assisting buyers and sellers with their rea l estate needs you ca n find Sue riding one of her se ven horses t h rough t he beautiful Arizona desert or competing at a barrel race on her horse The Right Remedy.

Along with horses, Sue loves and enjoys her church family at First Assembly of God and being a part of the journey w it h t he young women at The Home of Hope.

You ca n f i nd Sue at t he Coldwell Banker ROX Realty office most days or call 520560-0957

Dawn Zimbelman, CDPE, ABR,

Georgia F. Schaeffer, GRI, CDPE, ABR,

SRES, SFR, REALTOR®

SRES, SFR, Associate Broker/REALTOR®

A transplant from New Je r s e y, I’ve lived in Casa Grande since the 1970’s, being drawn in by t he sm a l l, hometown feel and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. This is where I met my husband, John, and we chose to raise our child ren. We a re dog lovers and currently have two Weimaraner rescues keeping our household entertained, full of love and excitement.

Sp e n d i n g t i m e w it h o u r children and grandchildren is a pleasure.

For 20 yea rs, I w as the Administrative Assistant to the President of The Mahoney

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degree complemented her education.

Sue’s real estate ca reer started in Pueblo, Colorado at the New Horizons Real E s t a t e c o mp a n y i n 1977 t hen sig ne d on w it h t he M a h o n e y G r o up i n 19 8 0 for the ne x t 28 yea rs. As a consistent Top Producer and Realtor® of the Yea r w ith The Mahoney Group she fol lowe d suit at ROX Rea l Estate a nd Coldwell Banker ROX Realt y b e com i ng a v a lue d tea m member.

S u e ’s R e p u t a t i o n i s marked by genuine long lasting client relationships. Encouraging communication and making

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Group. My after-retirement career, real estate, began with ROX Real Estate, then Coldwell Banker Excel and when the companies merged, Coldwell Banker ROX Realty.

I love spending time with my clients! It’s so fun to figure out what my clients want in a home and a lifestyle. I also enjoy assisting buyers and sellers wanting to downsize once thei r children move on with their lives, rights i z i n g b e c a u s e o f l i f e ’s circumstances, or clients that just need a change. There is never a dull moment in real estate!

Staying current in this everchanging market and taking classes to be the best agent I can be is my priority.

Casa Grande is my home…I am a third generation A rizonan. I was born in Dr. L e h m b e r g ’s H o s p i t a l which is now an apartment building behind Little Sombrero. Growing up on my parents’ cotton farm and cattle ranch was idyllic, and I was active in 4-H and my church.

After high school, I attended the University of Arizona, married, had two beautiful daughters and moved to California, however, the farm and Arizona desert called me back in 1980. I raised my girls, worked in my former husband’s office, and over the years volunteered in various social, ser vice and religious

groups. I became a REALTOR (following in my dad’s footsteps) in 1995 at The Mahoney Group, leaving in 2004 to join Coldwell Banker Excel.

Volunteer service has always been an important way for me to give back to my community.

I have ser ved as a leader in the hospital auxiliar y, as an Elder in my church, worked to incorporate Pinal Countr y’s first hospice, helped establish the Pinal County Chapter of The American Heart Association and served our Western Pinal County Real Estate Association.

My husband, Gary, and I are blessed to spend summers in his gorgeous boyhood home of Montana. We especially love our time with our children, grandchildren and, yes, greatgrandchildren!

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Leadership: Women In Business Barbara J. Miller, REALTOR® Coldwell Banker Rox Realty I am a dedicated professional Realtor® I have been successful in the real estate field all of my adult li fe. I have worked w it h my husband for 33 years; he has been in real estate for 43 years. I have 3 grown children, 2 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

My husband does all the co ok i ng; a l l I m a k e a r e reser v at ions. I sta r ted buying remodeling and selling homes for myself.

T hen de c ide d to get my license and help others do the same. Real Estate is my passion. We moved here in 2005 from Washington State and wish we would have made the move sooner.

Now I love helping others,

f i r st t i me buyers, t h o s e moving up or down a nd t hose retiring or stay ing just for the winter. I love listing and marketing homes, my e x p er ience a nd t r a i n i ng along with my husband’s knowledge give us a ver y competitive edge. We have great references and know that you will be satisfied with the proven strategies we use to get your home sold fast or to help you find the home of your dreams.

Gretchen Slaughter, REALTOR® Coldwell Banker Rox Realty It was Leap Year, 1972 when it all began. A medical student was called to deliver a baby... his baby girl - that was me!

When my dad graduated from medical school, we moved to California until I was 8; next came the exciting part! We moved to my family’s farm in Casa Grande, to the home that my mom grew up in, built by my grandpa. My childhood w a s f u l l of s w i m m i ng i n ditches, climbing trees and building the best of forts.

My summers were spent in Oklahoma with my aunt and uncle, working cows, bailing hay and learning to can food.

I attended high school here, at Casa Grande Union High and graduated in 1990. (Go COUGARS!) THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

I had 3 kids and was a stay at home mom for several years.

In the late 90’s I decided to buy Elite Cleaners, the old dry cleaners in town. When I sold the business it was time to do something different. I got a job in escrow with Title Securit y Agenc y. It w as a wonderful place to work. We laughed, we cried, and we did a fantastic job when it came to title and escrow!

In 2009 my husband and I were blessed with another baby boy. When he was a year old, my husband had an accident and suffered a traumatic brain injur y. It took him a few months to learn to walk and talk, but he has made a miraculous re cover y. T hat is a pa r t

of my l i fe I w i sh wou ld have never happened, but it h a s t aug ht m e a b o ut compassion and empathy for others in a way that I may have never known if not for our experience.

From escrow, becoming a Realtor® was a natural pro g ression; I a m a 3rd gener at ion C a s a Gr a nde Realtor®. What I learned would prove e x t remely v aluable in representing buyers and sellers.

I love being a Realtor®! I enjoy meeting new people and helping them to the best of my ability. I pride myself on ma k i ng a rea l est ate t ransaction as smooth as possible with the best communication I can give.

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The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 50... vote … the worst issue they’ve voted on? I mean the worst outcome, in your opinion?

MAYOR JACKSON: Wow. You know I can’t think of one. I’m sure there’s plenty. But I’ll tell you one of my problems is, and I have this problem when I do my State of the City address every year. I’m not really good at looking back. You know? And so when people say, well, ‘what did you do last year’, I was like, “Eh, I don’t know.” I’m coming up on my final fifteen months in office.

GC LIVING: You’re not running for anything else?!

MAYOR JACKSON: I have a State of the City address that I usually do in March and it will be my last one. So I thought, you know what, it would be kind of fun to look back over the nine years that I’ve been in office and say, “Okay, when I came into office in 2007, where were we, and where are we today, and are we better off?” And like most politicians as I look at that I say to myself, “I really believe we are.” We’ve weathered one of the worst recessions in history, we’ve done a lot of work in the city, we’ve moved the city forward at a time when a lot of cities aren’t doing that.

One of the primary things I ran on was and I’m guilty of that as anybody else - we kind of try to hide in the shadow of Maricopa County a little bit. You know, we do pretty innovative and wonderful things down here, but we don’t want those people up there to know what we’re doing. And I remember Jim [Thompson, City Manager] and I are having this discussion probably less than two years in to my first term. And we’d said, “You know what, the money’s up there. If we’re going to get any progress in our community, we need to let those guys know what we’re doing down here.”

So we really made an effort to better engage with business leaders and community leaders up in the valley. And I think that’s really helped, because now ... you know I was just at a meeting for the guy who’s trying to unveil a brand new project here in town, and, a big project, I have no idea what the cost is but ... international scope, huge, eighteen hundred acres, and it’s predominately commercial industrial. And, he got done with the presentation, I went up and introduced myself to him and said, “You know, even though you’re not in this city’s

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limits you’re in our planning area, so if we can help just feel free to call me.” And he’s out in the valley and he goes, “You know, we came down here because we’re hearing such good things about Casa Grande.

That’s the difference between where we were in 06’ and where we are today. And part of that is just the natural evolution of the city. I think it was kind of the perfect storm. We did some pretty innovative things early, and caught some people’s attention, and that will leverage into good stuff. That didn’t answer your question I got off track I’m sorry.

GC LIVING: That’s fine. You mentioned Jim Thompson. Speaking of Jim, how do you rate his management of the city Casa Grande?

MAYOR JACKSON: I will tell you a funny story about that. When I was running for mayor, there was a rumor running around the city that I was running to get rid of Jim Thompson. And while that rumor wasn’t true, it wasn’t my place to say anything about it. So I get elected and my first day in office I go in to city hall and of course Jim comes in and he wants to talk to me, because we didn’t really know each other that well. And I could tell he was a little tentative about it, you know?

GC LIVING: Hahaha.

MAYOR JACKSON: “Jim,” I said, “I know you’ve heard the rumors, that I was running to get rid of you.” And I said, “I want you to know that’s not why I’m here. And if I get unhappy with you, you’re gonna be the first person to know it. I’m not going to sit here and beat around the bush about it. And over the eight years that we worked together we haven’t always agreed on things, but I think the primary issue we both agree on is one, move the community forward, and two, we want to leave it better than it was when we got here. And I think, you know Jim has had some recent hiccups with things, but we would not be in the financial shape we are today if it had not been for Jim Thompson.

We saw our bond rating rise three times during a recession. That’s almost unheard of. We did two hundred million dollars worth of public infrastructure during that time period. And because the contractors wanted work so badly, we not only got good prices on stuff, we got the A+ workers because they’re trying to keep their good people busy. So we got great bang for the buck, raising the bond rate, while that doesn’t mean a lot to a lot of people, it is a function

of the interest rate you pay on it.

So we issued, I don’t know sixty million dollars worth of bonds on the waste water treatment plant over twenty years. The difference between the bond rating we started at and the bond rating we ended at is a difference of about two hundred and forty thousand dollars a year, over twenty years.

It’s a big number. Jim has brought in some really good leaders. And cities are like big businesses. You run in cycles, you hire a bunch of people and they’re all the same age and they all leave at the same time. And Jim has been fortunate to be able to hire a lot of the key department heads, and by and large, most of his decisions have been right on.

You might not always agree with him, but I think that for what the city needed at the time they came in, they were the right people to put in place. He has also done a really good job I think of mentoring Larry Rains.

Larry could certainly be a city manager anywhere in the country if he chose to be.

But I think he would tell you that he stays in Casa Grande for a variety of reasons, one of which is there’s still a challenge here.

We’re still doing some innovative things, you could see things that are right on the horizon ready to happen. And I think Larry wants to be a part of those. So when Jim decides to retire, and you know his scheduled retirement date is some time in the next eighteen months, the council is going to have to make a decision on who to replace him with. And I hope they look very favorably at Larry. He has done a great job, he’s a great guy, he knows the community, and I think he has learned a lot from working with Jim. GC LIVING: Okay. You wouldn’t say what was the worst thing that happened on your watch. What’s the best thing that happened on your watch and this question’s going to lead into the statement or your answer, what do you think your legacy is?

MAYOR JACKSON: You know you and I talked about this earlier, and I think that there are several things that I’m really proud of as I look back over the last eight years. One that I think the jury is still out on is the Grande Sports World. And I know certainly Dick has been really critical about that through the course of the last few months, but here’s the deal; we were going to build soccer fields somewhere in town because we have

continued on page 62...

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Words & Wisdom

Leadership - Words and Wisdom to Live By

by Roger Vanderpool, former Director of Arizona Department of Public Safety and former Pinal County Sheriff

W

e have all, at one time or another in our life, worked for or been around those people who you would follow to the end of the world; those people that seem to be natural leaders. I’ve been asked several times what makes a good leader and how can one learn to be a leader.

There certainly is no shortage of books or articles on leadership. I have no set of blueprints on how you become an effective leader; in fact I think a lot of it is trial and error. I thank my father and mother for not making me afraid of a hard day’s work, because being an effective leader is work.

When looking at myself, I believe I am a situational leader, meaning that there isn’t any one leadership style that will work best in every situation. But there are some lessons I have learned along the way that has assisted me in my endeavors.

I mentioned there are lots of books about leadership. I have always felt that if you only had one book to follow, make that book the Bible. In the Bible we find some of the greatest leaders in history. Here we are taught how we should treat people. Remember leaders lead people - not things. Good leaders should have empathy towards those who work with them. The good leader practices servant leadership. He/she THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

doesn’t take on the persona of a king, but that of someone who looks out for the needs of the people working for him/her.

God gave man two ears and one mouth. A good leader listens more than he/she speaks. Too often it ends up the other way around, but when you look at the truly great leaders they listen and take in more than they speak.

A good leader must get out and be seen. They must get out of the office and walk about their “ship” so to speak. A good leader must get to know his/her people and the work that they do and the obstacles they face. This will help the leader have a better understanding of issues faced in the work place.

Ego - ego can be a powerful trait, but it can be both good and bad. A leader should be proud of his/her accomplishments. They have worked hard to get to where they are, but the true leader also knows that “There but for the grace of God go I” I would always tell people I worked with that every spoke in the wheel is equally as important.

Whenever my managers/commanders would come to work they must never pass anyone without smiling and saying good morning or hello. Treat people the way you would like to be treated.

We have all heard the saying, “Don’t write checks you can’t cash”, so as a

leader don’t make promises you can’t carry through on. Be straight with people; don’t try to sell them a snow job.

Oftentimes we see small problems become huge lawsuits because one party won’t admit they made a mistake, or to just say ‘I’m sorry’. Remember there has only been one perfect man, the rest of us are going to make mistakes. In fact if you don’t make a few mistakes then you must not be doing much.

And one of the last bits of my strategy that I will leave with you is, remember your manners. Remember to say please and thank you. If you can’t say something nice about a person, then don’t say anything, don’t become a gossip, and keep what is told to you in confidence to yourself. The old adage “that loose lips sink ships”, also applies to leaders. Many potential leaders have witnessed their careers “sink” because they couldn’t the juicy news to themselves.

And never think you know it all.

There will always be someone who is more knowledgeable than you but continue to strive and continue to learn. Not only will it make you a more effective leader, but a more interesting person to be around.

Thank you for letting me share a few of my thoughts about leadership with you, I wish you well and may God continue to bless our great country.

Remember there has only been one perfect man, the rest of us are going to make mistakes. In fact if you don’t make a few mistakes then you must not be doing much.

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The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 60... a youth soccer program that had outgrown the facilities.

Those soccer fields were going to cost us somewhere between twelve and thirteen million dollars, and the city would maintain ‘em, and while we do a great job of maintaining ‘em, they’re not maintained at a professional standard if you will. So, the owner of the Francisco Grande Hotel came in and said “We have this idea that we would like to run by you,” and it was to build the Grande Sports World complex. The actual agreement is about twelve inches thick, but the gist of the agreement is, the city would build the facility, and the Francisco Grande would maintain and operate it for us, and there is a pro- forma where, when it reached a certain income level, the city gets a percentage of those profits.

So we were going to spend thirteen, let’s say, be conservative, we were going to spend twelve million dollars putting in a facility for youth sports anyway, and the other site we looked at was one called the Linden property, which is at the far north end of town, and, we were prepared to spend the money to go do that. The Grande Sports World came in, and said, “Well, if you build the, the, the soccer/football fields and put in a building for us, we’ll operate ‘em and maintain ‘em at no cost to the city. So if we were to build and maintain those soccer fields, we probably are looking at somewhere around three hundred thousand dollars a year. Then Grande Sports World came in, and said, “Well, if you build the soccer/ football fields and put in a building for us, we’ll operate them and maintain them at no cost to the city.

It cost twelve million dollars to build the fields and another eight to build the building. All we really pay on that is the debt service on eight million dollars, and I’m not an accountant, but if I had to guess, I would guess that the percentage of the debt service we pay on the whole facility probably equates to about three hundred thousand dollars. So while you say it’s costing the city money, it really isn’t because we’ve avoided the maintenance cost of the fields, and if you’ve been out there, they’re maintained at a much higher level than we would ever hope to maintain them.

And Grande Sports World has really put

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us on the soccer map. We’re not a soccer state, but, my God ... I don’t know if you’ve been out there, walked down the hall in the back ... I was out there with the Youth Commission, Saturday, and they have a tradition where all the kids that have been through their academy have a picture, where they’ve gone to college, or the pros because several of them had been drafted by the pros as soon as they came out of the program, and any award that they won while they were there. Last year, their under 16 team, I think was the National Champion at the level that they play at.

GC LIVING: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

MAYOR JACKSON: They bring in tournaments regularly during the soccer season, where we’ll have three to five thousand people in town. There’s a benefit to the city of Casa Grande and restaurants and lodging. Oh, and one of the big arguments about using the Grande versus the Linden property, you use the Linden property ... great access, right off the freeway. So if we have people from Phoenix or Tucson that are coming in or a tournament they’re going to pull off the freeway, go to the Linden property and never through town. By going out to the Francisco Grande, it forces people to drive through town, they see what the town has to offer and I think it’s been a huge benefit to the city, but it’s being painted by this brush of, “Well, we’re losing ten million dollars on the deal.”

We’re not really losing ten million dollars on the deal. We had a pro forma that said over twenty years, we hope to make that much money, but the revenue stream hasn’t been there, and, and I know that’s a tough concept to understand for people, but we ended up with world-class soccer/football fields out there for our youth programs. I talked to Matt Lemberg yesterday, there’s seven hundred kids signed up for the soccer program.

GC LIVING: So why don’t I hear that story on the front page of the newspaper? Why don’t I see your pretty face with a sound bite talking about that?

MAYOR JACKSON: Well, because again, we have had multiple conversations with the media trying to, not only here, but also in Phoenix. I mean, you think about these, they’ve got about seventy kids in that program right now. They competed in the national finals game for the soccer at the high-

est USL soccer level there is in the country ... and we did not see a single thing about it in the Arizona Republic.

We’ve tried when we have winter visitors here, we have had several of the major league soccer teams that come out there and train for a couple of weeks at a time, and one of the regular teams is the Seattle Sounders ... we get lots of winter visitors here from Seattle. Do you know how they find out what the practice schedule is? They get online, and they read the Seattle newspaper, and they find out that in Casa Grande, Arizona there’s a practice schedule for the Sounders if you’re down there. How sad is that?

Most people have no idea major league soccer teams train out here.

GC LIVING: Great. So since you brought that facility up that’s been criticized for a variety of different financial or location problems.

The new police headquarters has been criticized for where it is. We’re now, as a city, looking at a new multi-generational recreational facility. This is your chance to make your statement on why that’s good for the city, and why it should be built.

MAYOR JACKSON: Well, talk about both of those facilities and their locations because people tend to look at the city of Casa Grande, and they look at the urbanized area of Case Grande. The urbanized area is about a half of what the planning area is, and if you look at the planning area boundary, the police station is almost in the exact, dead center of the community, and for response times out of a police station, you want to be in the middle. The community center is a little different issue.

Yeah, we knew we wanted to build one.

We’ve looked at multiple sites. We looked at sites in the downtown area, but none of them we have been able to identify are big enough or are in the right location. And by saying that, I mean we looked, for instance, at Carr McNatt Park as a potential location for it ... not quite big enough. There’s too much going on there, and we’d have to take out too much of Carr McNatt Park to do it, and then you generate parking problems.

You generate evening activity problems in the neighborhood every night.

I mean, if you go by Carr McNatt Park now, there are people out there playing football and soccer, whatever, but they usually are done by 8:00, and it’s not every night, it’s

continued on page 74...

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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community

From the desk of Rock Earle

e it Better As Leadership → Progress → Mak have been I so or r yea last you recall, for the hip” is ranting about leadership. “Leaders and we didn’t t, cep apparently a complicated con we’d call it ght thou we so e, get much respons vague, so we little a is s” gres “pro But “progress”. settled on and n, decided to just say what we mea “Make it Better”. s to lders who see clear opportunitie Better, a group of local stakeho it e Mak now is n visio ’s man So, what began as one in Casa Grande.

Our collective quality of life here make it better . Make what better? downtowns, performing centers, hiking/biking trails, historic on eati recr like w, kno n we You ff”. , but we all want more. And whe Quality of Life We call it “stu dining. We have some stuff here and il do. The reta rse ities dive mun and com s, ring eum arts centers, mus have it; “lesser” neighbo , it is hard to know why we don’t here isn’t that ia. f med stuf t the cha l at nd loca look arou t commenters on want just ask any of the frequen “lacks” list could be as long as you requires a majority vote to move has? Our system of government else ne ryo eve f stuf n well but whose the e hav we Why don’t es; or, we have leaders who mea e enough leaders in the right plac hav not t obvious that if ty mus pret ply it’s , sim ess We ardl ard. forw t for the community . Reg bes is t wha ut abo nt eme judg r t we must change our leadership. vested interests cloud thei stuff residents and taxpayers wan the get to f, stuf no ns mea ip current leadersh f for their for good work and Jim Thompson and city staf or, may nt mbe incu ’s nde Gra a for the next round of progress.

Thanks to Bob Jackson, Cas ed financially and well prepared cath uns ion ess Rec at Gre the leading us through tions, we will roval In the upcoming local elec The Make It Better Seal of App make it to who can demonstrate a desire be vetting the candidates; those seal of approval. better will be endorsed with our they I’ll say it again: if you build it, will Just Build It I’ve said it before and we have, f stuf e mor you don’t, they won’t. The come? Maybe, maybe not. But if r thei AND ns ratio to locate their ope the more companies will choose . here el onn pers t managemen ng the Center That’s why we are endorsi Multigenerational Recreation what care ly real ’t don We ter. reation Cen proposed Multi-generational Rec it. d buil will surely come over time - just features it opens with – the rest

our our community’s future; check out on all kinds of issues that affect re futu the in us from e mor . r You can expect to hea ys, we’d love to hear from you osite or go to mib-cg.org. As alwa mission statement on the page opp - Rock Grande, AZ 442 W Kortsen Rd #101, Casa www.roxco.com

85122

520.509.1000 oxco.com k@r roc

MakeItBetter-CG.org

MakeItBetter-CG.org

MISSION STATEMENT

- CASA GRANDE (MIB-CG) is a group of local stakeholders who believe in a MISSION STATEMENT MAKE IT BETTER for Casa- Grande. bright future MAKE IT BETTER CASA GRANDE (MIB-CG) is a group of local stakeholders who believe in a bright future for Casa Grande.

MIB-CG will seek to improve the community’s prospects in five ways:

MIB-CG will seek to improve the community’s prospects in five ways: ·

PROMOTE: Promote the ideals of progress;

·

·

PROMOTE: Promote the ideals initiatives of progress; to better the community;

·

PROPOSE: Consistently propose initiatives to better the community; MONITOR: Ensure that the local political climate remains positive and “pro” progress by

·

MONITOR: Ensure; that the local political climate remains positive and “pro” progress by “progress” initiatives monitoring the debate and decision process of city government - elected as well as staff - on “progress” Stand ready, willing and able to engage any and all citizens individually and/or in EDUCATE:initiatives;

·

·

·

·

·

PROPOSE: Consistently propose

monitoring the debate and decision process of city government - elected as well as staff

- on

groups on the consequences to communities of obstructionist and no-growth policies

EDUCATE: Stand ready, willing and able to engage any and all citizens individually and/or in y whenever necessar public advocacy and e, vocalof a very aggressiv ADVOCA groups onTE: the Maintain consequences to communities obstructionist and, no-growth policies

via any means available; champion worthy initiatives that have been, are being or otherwise nty/State) by the various existing special venue (City/Cou anyaggressive, of denialainvery would be at riskMaintain ADVOCATE: vocal and public advocacy, whenever necessary interests; via any means available; champion worthy initiatives that have been, are being or otherwise

would be at risk of denial in any venue (City/County/State) by the various existing special

, visual IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE (2015) Adopt and achieve one very iconic (tangible, attractive interests; and visionary) betterment project:

Adopt ity andRecreati achieveonal oneCenter very iconic (tangible, attractive, visual IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE (2015) se” Commun a “showca → Build and visionary) betterment project: s for NEAR-TERM OBJECTIVE (2015-2016) Identify, promote and support such candidate Platform” s “Progres s MIB-CG’ mirror Build a council, “showcase” Center whose idealsRecreational Mayor)Community (City office elected →

councilpromote and support such candidates for ive mayor andIdentify, a progress(2015-2016) NEAR-TERM OBJECTIVE → Elect elected office (City council, Mayor) whose ideals mirror MIB-CG’s “Progress Platform”

→ Elect a progressive mayor and council

CONTACT MAKE IT BETTER – CASA GRANDE: info@mib-cg.org

CONTACT MAKE IT BETTER – CASA GRANDE: info@mib-cg.org

Special Section: Women in Business EDUCATION

Zonta - Benefiting Women in Casa Grande and Around the World Submitted Article

T

he Zonta Foundation of the Casa Grande Valley is a 501 ( 3)c non-profit organization comprised of members of the Zonta Club of Casa Grande Valley. Zonta members dedicate many hours of volunteer service and advocacy.

By focusing on improving the quality of life for the women and children in the Casa Grande Valley area, Zonta has benefited many organizations and individuals throughout its long years of service.

The mission of the Zonta Club of Casa Grande Valley is to advance the status of women and girls by supporting their health, welfare, education and development. Zonta’s actions also have demonstrated, on a consistent and long term basis, how professional and business women in Casa Grande are acting as citizens involved in the process of making our community a better place to live. These professional women continue to serve as positive role models for the young women of the next generation, thus ensuring a continuation of service to the local community.

The Zonta Club of Casa Grande Valley was chartered on January 18, 1947, by Zonta International. Zonta International is a leading global organization

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of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. Zonta International was established in Buffalo, NY in 1919, and now has a membership of 36,000 in 1,189 clubs in 69 countries throughout the world. The word “Zonta” is derived from a Sioux Indian word meaning “honest and trustworthy.”

The Zonta Club of Casa Grande Valley has been actively adhering to the above stated mission for 68 years by performing hands-on activities and conducting various fundraisers, all of which have benefited local women and/or organizations involved in improving women’s lives. It is estimated that, during these 68 years, Club members have expended over 115,000 hours of community service and have contributed over $250,000 to individuals and/or organizations throughout Western Pinal County. In addition, through annual dues, Club members contribute money to various projects around the world.

Facts About Zonta Club of Casa Grande Valley • Empowers women, men and children to take control of

their health care by supporting the Free Medical Clinic financially and volunteering our time and resources. Zonta has provided reading materials for the patients including books in Spanish and English. Zonta has supported and partnered with shelters for survivors of domestic violence, CG Alliance, women overcoming substance abuse, and the AZ Kinship Navigator Services.

• Advocates education through financial assistance in support of CAC Promise for the Future scholarship program, Next Generation Mentoring program and Teen Law School. Zonta provides unique professional networking opportunities through venues where individuals can pursue personal growth and enhance their professional knowledge. In addition, we provide scholarships for young women pursuing education in public affairs, women in business, and women who aspire to overcome gender barriers to careers in traditionally male-dominated fields through our Amelia Earhart Fellowships.

Education and service are also advocated by sponsor-

ing Z Club: Young Women in Leadership at Vista Grande High School. Both financial and personal involvement from Zonta helps the young women to take control of their lives and help others in the community.

• Connects with our community through innovative fundraising activities and events and collaborating with other local organizations.

• Supports Zonta International’s global service projects through funding and advocacy.

• Annually recognize and publicize outstanding achievement by community women through Proclamations and the Woman of the Year award program.

Facts About Zonta International Zonta International envisions a world in which women’s rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. In such a world, every woman is literate and has access to education, health care, legal and economic resources on an equal basis with men. In such a world, no woman lives in fear of violence. continued on page 77...

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Casa Grande Recreation Center - Yes or No?

by Harold Kitching

A

lmost nine years ago, Casa Grande voters approved a bond issue for a community recreation center. At the time, there were bond issues for other city improvements, including a new Public Safety Facility, upgrades to Len Colla Center, fire station and library work.

The city said the recreation center would be the last of the projects to be built.

The community is still waiting, with a 2017 construction deadline from donors of property.

One question still to be answered is whether it should be a full scale recreation/community center or a place targeted more toward families.

That question may be answered as part of a $155,132 contract with Haydon Building Corp. for initial schematic plans that would show where things could go in the proposed center — 42,000 to 45,000 square feet — and what would be financially feasible. At the request of City Councilman Dick Powell that contract will include at least three community meetings where residents may give their views. No meetings have yet been set.

Conceptual site plan “This is a two-step design approach,” Community Services Director Bill Schwind told the City Council.

“And this is architecture only approach, look at a floor plan, design a floor plan, what works, what doesn’t work. Fitness, maybe yes, maybe

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no; community meeting rooms, administrative space, share space with a nonprofit partner such as the Boys and Girls Clubs.

“Basically, it’s how do all the pieces of this puzzle fit together to make it work and make it as efficient as we know how. And then that will be followed by a schematic design to show just a little more.”

“Once that thing gets put on paper, can we pick it apart, [where] we say, yes, we like that, we don’t like that? Absolutely. There’s plenty of room for change, plenty of room for refinement.

“And then the architects will develop concept plans and ultimately come out with a final phase design. And once that’s done, the architects and the contractor can seriously work with us and provide a cost analysis on what this facility could look like.”

Other elements, such as a new aquatics center, outdoor basketball and such could be added later as money allows, the council was told.

Operational costs There would definitely be operational costs, Schwind said, the amount depending upon size of the building and what is offered.

“We’ve run financial pro formas on these, obviously to try to get this down to as small a governmental subsidy as we possibly can,” Schwind said. “Things should pencil out. That was the direction we were given a year or two ago, hence

the negotiations with nonprofit partners.

“But that’s somewhat of a moving target, so you have to be able to know the function of your building, down to the number of hours you’re going to be open, down to how many staff you need, who can incorporate into what. It’s a lot of moving, it’s a moving target at this point.

“But once that gets a little bit farther refined with this package, it’ll be a little bit easier for us to kind of narrow down our focus and come up with, I think, a realistic operational cost.”

Subsidy required?

A fear of city government is that such a rec center would require a taxpayer subsidy. Casa Grande had for years subsidized the golf course before contracting that out to private management and is still heavily subsidizing the Grande Sports World complex because it is not meeting its promised income goals. According to Councilman Powell, the arrears are around $5.8 million.

During the City Council discussion Councilman Matt Herman said, “The first day I was on this council I learned that you subsidize the young people and the old people, and that’s pretty much how it is. So that’s what we have to figure, how to make this effective.”

Councilman Ralph Varela said that when the schematic designs are delivered, “you’ll look at things that are going help with the reduction of THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

CG News the subsidy, as well. There are certain things in here that you identify that increase your revenues and hence are going to reduce your subsidies. Should you be looking at that as part of your pro forma in terms of what types of things go in here that are going to financially help reduce the city subsidy?”

“Yes,” Schwind replied, adding, “and then hopefully during the planning and construction phase, obviously, there is so much that we can do to enhance our operational efficiencies, I think where we’re really going to pick up a lot of savings, as well.

“We already subsidize the Recreation Department, we subsidize the libraries. We’re getting out of the subsidy of the golf course, thank God.” The pro forma for the rec center shows that with enough memberships (880) it should not require a subsidy.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” Schwind said. “We’re really down to efficiencies.

And some of the older facilities that we do have they’re not going to go away. They’ll still be used as rental facilities and potentially new homes for nonprofit partners in and around town that need facilities.

“To build a new facility as a recreational function and built for recreation, there are a lot of efficiencies that you can build into these buildings: site supervision, staff levels, how long you’re open and how distinct our view in supervising. A lot of savings there on personnel, staff, and that kind of thing.”

Varela added, “As well as programs that are going to create revenue as opposed to not create.”

Councilman Powell pointed out that, “Half the recreation tax every year goes out to Francisco Grande for $500,000. What does that leave you in your budget to use and how are you using the facility at the Francisco Grande? When you get a city brochure it tells us through your department that we answered all these needs in the community and it’s really been a good thing for us. But is that true?”

Yes and no, Schwind replied.

“From the youth soccer perspective and from the Boys and Girls Clubs perspective they have, I think, 700 registered kids going out there playing soccer over the season from, I want to say, maybe late August through November, Thanksgivingish,” he said.

“We’ve sat down and met with, I believe there’s 17 local youth football teams that play here. They practice at Carr McNatt Park, they play half their games spread out over all over the Valley from Chandler to Gilbert, but their home games they tend to play at the local high stadium.

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

“There’s some lacrosse that goes on out there that we help promote when it comes. They’re having an upcoming tournament, I believe in November, that we’re working with another outside group and they have 36-team soccer tournaments in November.

“So we are attempting to bring more out of town use out there to those fields, but it’s been a slow go.”

A fitness center?

There continues to be the question about how much of a fitness area the proposed rec center would have.

Councilman Powell believes it calls for a full scale center, a size that would be major competition to private fitness businesses in the city. The presentations by the city and Haydon both refer to it as “fitness area.”

During his study session presentation, Schwind referred to it as both “fitness elements” and “a little fitness area.” At Powell’s request, private fitness business owners and representatives appeared at an earlier City Council meeting to oppose a fitness center element. They said that the projection of 880 memberships to be able to run the rec center without a subsidy is unrealistic.

In addition to believing that taxpayer money should not go toward subsidizing competition against private enterprise, Powell also said

that by removing a fitness component it would save on equipment and personnel costs, meaning that money saved could be directed toward other amenities such as family fun activities. A lot of the expense and liability would disappear, he said.

“I would agree with you,” Schwind responded.

“However, on the fitness front from Parks and Recreation seasonal brochures and guides that are produced and have been produced for several decades, we are offering fitness programs continually.”

More community programming?

Councilman Karl Montoya asked if Schwind had a percentage of how much programming could be in the rec center.

Schwind responded that, “When our brochures come out, we are overrun with people registering and we fill up our classes. But due to the size of the programs and classes that we do have, we’re a little bit confined in what we can do.

“So can I say we can double our activity? I certainly would hope so.

“But, again, that’s only a guess but it really plays into elements of how much space we have.”

A complete package about where the rec center now stands and where it’s going is posted under SPECIAL at www.haroldkitching.com. It includes charts, reports and opinions.

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Page Article Taste of Casa Grande

29th Annual

Taste of Casa Grande

by Jo Anne Pinto, MS Children’s Counselor, Against Abuse, Inc.

D

o-gooder foodies have some place to be on Sunday, October 18, 2015 between 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. at The Property Conference Center for the 29th Annual “Taste of Casa Grande” For 29 years, restaurants, concerned community members, and the general public have come together to enjoy great food, good drink, and generous company – all while benefiting Pinal County’s own Against Abuse, Inc. (AAI). It is a big party for an important cause – and we hope you will come out to sample all of the wonderful cuisine that is situated right here in our own backyard!

Founded in 1981, Against Abuse, Inc. is one of Arizona’s most well-respected domestic violence agencies. As a 501(c)3 non-profit, we serve victims of domestic violence and child abuse through shelter, legal advocacy, counseling, education, case management and a myriad of constantly evolving services designed to help victims become self-sufficient.

AAI funds its programs through a combination of federal, state and corporate grants, as well as community events and individual giving. Like many small non-profits, each year AAI pieces together funding for staff salaries and program materials in order to make a difference in the lives of the people we serve. Here are a couple of examples of the impact of services for women and children: 1) Eight year old “Johnny” returned to the shelter with his mother after a nine month absence. His mother had several broken bones in her face and ribs, but it was little “Johnny” who remembered what he had learned in the children’s education group: When his mommy

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was getting hurt again he didn’t waste any time - he ran to the next door neighbor’s house and had her call 911. He was SO proud of himself!

2) We recently took a crisis call from a young lady who was crying and upset. Staff could hear her husband yelling and cursing her in the background. When asked if she wanted us to call 911 she said ‘yes’ and whispered the address. About an hour later she appeared at the shelter gate with her two children. The staff member who took the call introduced herself and the young lady “K” began to cry saying she was embarrassed. After she calmed down, they talked about her situation. She did not have time to get her work uniform or kid’s school uniforms out of the house when she left. She was also concerned because her in-law used to babysit the children and she was sure that assistance would no longer be available.

Staff helped her organize what she needed to do, which started by calling her place of employment and asking for the next day off to take care of things. AAI assisted her with an order of protection and

police escort to get her belongings out of the home. She then applied for alternative housing resources. AAI gave her childcare, transportation assistance and counseling. Her children finished school, she applied for and received more hours at work, and she was eventually approved to enter a transitional living program.

Possibly the most exciting thing about “K” is that she took all of her counseling sessions and group lessons very seriously and she became a peer mentor for other women coming out of abusive situations!

Each dollar contributed goes a long way toward helping people in crisis regain hope, a sense of meaning and purpose to re-establish their lives. For example $5 pays for prescriptions, $10 helps get copies of birth certifcates/ID’s for housing, $20 can purchase work/school clothing or non-slip shoes needed for employment, $50 helps with transportation/relocation costs, etc.

Never forgotten are the innocent child victims in AAI services.

To meet their needs, AAI has developed programming for children who have witnessed violence or suffered abuse themselves and we also teach teens about healthy relationships.

PHOTOS BY STEVEN KING/CASA GRANDE DISPATCH

You may support Against Abuse, Inc. by attending the 29th Annual Taste of Casa Grande on Sunday, October 18th at The Property Conference Center located at 1251 West Gila Bend Highway (HWY 84), Casa Grande, AZ. You will have a great time and be able to sample various hors d’oeuvres, amazing entrees, scrumptious desserts and beverages from over 25 local restaurants! You will be astounded by the variety and QUANTITY of food donated by local eateries. Entry tickets are $50 and all proceeds benefit AAI and the victims we serve. The Taste is also well known for its beautifully presented raffle baskets and imaginative door prizes! Raffle tickets are available for purchase on-site. Please visit the AAI website under “Events” to purchase entry tickets (www.against-abuse.org or Tasteofcasagrande.com). Sponsorship opportunities and other questions can be directed to Pat Griffen, Executive Director. 520.836.1239 x 12.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

29th Annual

“Taste of Casa Grande” Sunday, October 18, 2015 • 1:00 - 4:00pm Hosted by: The Property Conference Center 1251 West Gila Bend Highway (HWY 84) Casa Grande, AZ 85193

Tickets are $50 each.

Available online at tasteofcasagrande.com Or call Against Abuse, INC 520-836-1239

Did you know

Against Abuse, Inc. has a THRIFT STORE?

YOU'LL FIND GREAT VALUES SUCH AS: • Furniture • Electronics • Appliances • Name Brand Clothing • Children & Baby items • Antiques and Collectibles • Housewares • And So Much MORE! Summer Hours: Tues - Sat, 7am to 3pm Winter Hours starting October 1st - 8am to 4pm YOUR DONATIONS ARE NEEDED! PLEASE CONTACT BETTY COOK, THRIFT STORE MANAGER AT 520-836-0621 OR STOP BY THE STORE. Located at 110 E 1st St (in Old Town Casa Grande) Behind the former Don's Market

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Sponsor a Child or Family this Holiday Season by donating a new, unwrapped toy or clothing, non-perishable food or cash to Against Abuse. Call 520-836-1239 for information.

n e p o e r ’ e W end s! k e e w PRICE REDUCTION! Great home for first time buyers or investors. Large living room with nice eat in kitchen.

Large back yard with double chain link gate. Yard is ready for you to make your own. All bedrooms have carpet and tile in the other rooms. This is a must see!!!

OWNER SAYS BRING ALL OFFERS.

$69,900

Donna Anderson 520-705-2496 Donna1@coldwellbanker.com

$62,000

This move in ready 2BR, 2BA plus den/ office or possible 3rd bedroom home has all the features you are looking for!

LOCATION - lake front property with water level boat dock! UPGRADES new paint inside & out, new appliances, new granite counters in kitchen & baths, new lighting and fans, plantation shutters and gorgeous Saltillo tile floors. AMENITIES - private courtyard and backyard for entertaining on the lake complete with outdoor beehive fireplace and BBQ. All this home needs is YOU!

$184,500

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$177,900

Single level home with 1,854SF, 4BR, 2BA. A tile entry divides the formal living room and dining room and leads to the large great room with warm wood flooring. The kitchen is fabulous with gorgeous cabinets, breakfast bar and informal dining. An extended patio provides views of a lovely, carefree landscaped backyard. Located just minutes from Dave White Golf Course.

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$325,000

This grand Fulton home in Villago is absolutely loaded with upgrades.

Soaring ceilings, an impressive entry, wrought iron staircase and Juliet balcony provide architectural drama. There are 4BR plus office and loft, 4BA, 3,942SF, formal living, formal dining, family room with fireplace, informal dining and fabulous kitchen with breakfast bar for six. Garage space for 4 vehicles.

Kay Kerby 520-560-0769 Sarah Campbell 520-424-6577 kay_sarah@cox.net 4BR, 2BA Mfg home with new hardwood floors in living room, family room, kitchen and one bedroom. New carpet in master and 2 other bedrooms.

Large master bath with tub and walk-in shower. Split floor plan. Covered parking and patio area. Fenced yard with storage shed.

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David Schlagel • 520-280-9049 David.schlagel@coldwellbanker.com

$235,000

Tri-Level home sits on a 10,000 sq ft lot. 5BR, 3.5BA, all appliances included, granite kitchen counters and pull out shelves, and family room with fireplace. Tons of storage. Backyard has huge covered patio, pavers, play pool, and a large gravel area. 2 car garage plus another 1/2 garage accessible from either front or backyard.

Connie Rush connie.rush@coldwellbanker.com 520-560-0433 3BR, 2BA, 2,326SF. Heavily upgraded and move in ready.

Stacked stone fire place, updated kitchen, granite counters and new stainless appliances. New tile in all of the right places and new carpeting in the bedrooms. New plumbing, lighting fixtures and new interior paint. The pool has been re-plastered and the pump and filter have been replaced.

$279,999

Connie Rush connie.rush@coldwellbanker.com 520-560-0433

4BR, 2.5BA, 2,269SF. Wonderful Home with heated pool oversized 3+ car Garage all on 10,977 SF lot. Formal living with gas fireplace plus open kitchen/great room with bayed eating area.

Kitchen has pull out drawers, walk in pantry and stainless steel appliances including Dacor convection gas range and granite countertops. Huge laundry room with sink.

$130,000

Large kitchen with tons of cabinets, walk in pantry, breakfast room and formal dining. There are 2BR + den. Master has a walk in closet & separate jetted tub and shower.

Nice sized laundry room with cabinets and sink. Enclosed Arizona room. There is a RV gate and RV parking. NO HOA.

Robin Armenta Robin.armenta@coldwellbanker.com 520-414-8268

$299,000

Cathy Taylor 520-560-2083 Cathyt.coldwellbanker.com Single level home with 2,760SF. Great golf course views! There are 3BR plus a den & 3BA. Luxurious entry, formal dining as well as eat in kitchen, family room and living room. Shutters throughout. Newer roof and 2 A/C units. Must see.

Cathy Taylor 520-560-2083 Cathyt.coldwellbanker.com 4BR, 3BA, 3,741SF. Spectacular home centrally located with many outstanding features; split floor plan, formal living and dining, family room, eat-in professional kitchen, marble floors, custom blinds, wet bar, fireplace, stainless steel appliances, kitchen island, a back yard oasis with a pebble tech pool.

4BR, 2.5BA, 2,686SF in Villago. Full SS appliance package and washer/ dryer are included. Master suite with huge closet and large bathroom with double sinks, separate tub and shower. Freshly landscaped backyard creates a serene outdoor living space with a generously sized covered patio for your quiet enjoyment or entertaining.

$185,000

Annalisa Tapia annalisa.tapia@coldwellbanker.com 520-560-2960

$178,500

Priced to sell 2010SF, 4BR, 2.5BA, 2 car garage home. All new flooring, large open eat-in kitchen with pantry, open to great room.

Covered patio and large fenced backyard. Upstairs bedrooms and loft for extra living or study space.

Quick move-in an option.

$119,900

Robin Armenta Robin.armenta@coldwellbanker.com 520-414-8268

$495,000

Lovely 3BR, 2BA, 2709SF. home in the Historic District, Large kitchen, high end appliances including built-in sub zero refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher, trash compactor and built-in Nutone food center. Family room with brick fireplace. Easy care artificial grass sets off the home.

$252,500

Elaine M Canary elaine.canary@coldwellbanker.com 520-431-3988 3 BR, 1.75BA, 1921SF. Looking for a home without an HOA, this is the home for you. This 3 bedroom features a split floor plan, formal dining, spacious living room, eat-in kitchen with appliances, master bath with double sinks and large walk-in shower. The covered patio leads out to a backyard full of mature trees, bushes and plants.

3BR, 2BA, 2,591SF, custom ranch home on 4.9 acres. Vaulted ceilings, fireplace, breakfast bar & eating nook overlooks the pool in the backyard. There is a family room off kitchen. Large bedrooms, game room, 4 stall garage plus RV parking.

Small tack room & two horse corrals with turn out. Backyard fenced but whole acreage is not.

$379,500

Annalisa Tapia annalisa.tapia@coldwellbanker.com 520-560-2960

Sue Pittullo sue@cowgirlhomes.com 520-560-0957

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1919 N. TREKELL RD. CASA GRANDE Š2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. *Listing must be active as of the 10th of the month to qualify.

520-423-8250

The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 62... for a period of time during the year. So we started looking outside of the old part of downtown and the Gilbert family came in and said, “We will donate ten acres to the city for this site, just south of Kortsen Road, on the west side of Peart, and we said, “We’ll take it.” The caveat is, and I don’t remember the time limit, I think it might’ve been ten years. We had to have the construction done within that time frame.

The land cost, and its ten acres, in the market today is probably close to a million dollars. You’re in the real estate business, you probably know better than I do. So, number one, you’ve got a free site, infrastructure, for the most part, that’s already there, sewer, water, we’ll need to do some road widening, but the electric is there.

Most of the infrastructure is there, so you’re not going to use up a bunch of the budget on infrastructure, and I think that, we’re headed down the road, finally, to make some decisions about the community center. And if you look at the location, it’s kinda like the police station. It’s closer to the center of town than most people think.

We have a lot of population north of Cottonwood Lane in this town. Where are our facilities north of Cottonwood Lane? We really don’t have very many, and that was, at least in my mind, one of the things that helped me drive that decision that we need to provide some services out there, and ninety-nine percent of the people that are going to go there are going to get in a car and drive. So what difference does it make whether you drive from Lemberg and 11th Street or from Villago, you’re going to get in your car and drive anyway.

It’s all about providing a facility for our citizens to go and enjoy, and I know one of the things that we’ve talked a lot about is the fact that so many of our managers choose to live up in the valley, and one of the reasons they choose to do that is that there aren’t family-oriented activities here for them to do, like a community center. So I think one of the things that will be a benefit to that is we may see some of those plant managers decide to locate here when they move in as opposed to living up in the valley. And if they locate here, they get engaged in the community. They’re smart people, they understand the big picture, and I think it will

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help our community move forward again.

GC LIVING: Well, it simply is a fact that most communities our size have this already.

MAYOR JACKSON: And many smaller.

GC LIVING: Many smaller, indeed. Okay. We’ve been making lots of noise lately about leadership and progress and making it better, and we talked about soccer. We talk about things that site selection committees for industrial companies are looking for; recreation centers are one of them. What about something like bike paths? Is that the next step? Would you support that if it came up?

“It’s all about providing a facility for our citizens to go and enjoy... like a community center. ” MAYOR JACKSON: You know, we talk a lot about bike paths, and we actually have some master plans for trail systems that I think if we could do them that’d be great. Problem is, we don’t have any money and we have to have money to do them. I think the one that I would love to see us build is the Santa Cruz Wash bike path, and we’ve come up with a hundred different ideas of how to do that.

One of them is we’re going to put a sewer interceptor down along one of the banks, and when we fix it back up again, would turn it into a strip park. Turned out it didn’t make as much sense as we thought it would to run that interceptor down there, but it’s a funding problem, and ...

GC LIVING: So, just out of curiosity - and you may not be able to answer this. If our tax rate is ninety-nine cents, if that was right now, how many cents would it be to increase that to build that path system? Two cents?

MAYOR JACKSON: No, it’d probably be more than that.

GC LIVING: Five cents?

MAYOR JACKSON: Yeah, I’ll answer it this way. Our statutory maximum for a tax rate is about a buck ten. That extra ten cents would generate about a half a million dollars I think. With half a million dollars, you could bond about three million dollars worth of work. That’s probably not quite enough, so it

would have to be a little bit more than that.

Several years ago, a group came together and proposed a three-tenths of a cent sales tax increase for recreation facilities, and that’s how we built the Palm Island Pool, the Paul Mason Sports Complex, and some improvements, I think, at Carr McNatt Park.

I mean, there were several quality of life projects we did with that. And right now, some of that money is going towards the debt service for the Grande Sports World, but it’s going to take that kind of an initiative, I think, as opposed to looking at property taxes. The challenge you have in government, and certainly we have that here, our property tax right now is one of the lowest in Pinal County. It’s on the upper-half of the metro area for Phoenix, so you get issues with, you know, and I’m not picking on anybody but car dealers in particular. If you’re going to spend thirty thousand dollars for a car, and the tax rate here is a penny higher than it is in Mesa, you know, for one percent of thirty thousand dollars, they’ll probably drive to drive to Mesa and buy the car.

GC LIVING: Sales tax?

MAYOR JACKSON: Sales tax, yes. And so the magic number seems to be about nine percent. If you get above that, it’s too much ‘cause state did their little half cent thing a few years ago. Right now, Pinal County’s looking at a half cent sales tax increase for roads, and that’s a whole different issue that annoys me ...

MAYOR JACKSON: So the county is looking to have some sales tax for transportation purposes. I’m sure I have the numbers wrong.

We currently have a half-cent sales tax for transportation purposes in Pinal County.

About 75% of that sales tax money comes out of Casa Grande. When it was passed, the agreement with the county was they would keep half and they would distribute the other half through the cities, based predominantly on population. So we get about, I don’t know, 1.5 dollars a year in road tax revenue. Pinal County gets 5 million dollars.

As we annex areas, the county road mileage decreases, but our amount of money that we get stays the same. And if the county is going to move forward with the plan for another half-cent on top of what we have, we’ll push our tax rate, I think, to just under 9%. I think we’re at 8.4 or 8.6 right now.

GC LIVING: You need Supervisor Miller’s

continued on page 80...

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Straight Talk EDUCATION

Straight Talk: Young People & Leadership

by Donna McBride

L

eadership doesn’t have a “one size fits all” definition. Everyone has their own ideas about what it takes to be a good leader. We see it every day in our work, government, schools and even civic groups.

Leadership is strong in the most unusual places. We expect it in the boardroom, in government and even in school clubs. But it is alive and well in places like our jails, gangs and on the streets. You have to think beyond the activity, but the trait of leadership itself. When a gang boss has a following of members, they too follow their actions, learning from them and stepping up to please them. And that is a leader. Don’t get me wrong, their actions don’t merit praise, but they are “leading”. Just in the wrong direction.

While there are many different styles of leadership, the common foundation has proven that leaders are those who know how to achieve goals and inspire others along the way.

With years of learning and having great mentors who taught me the good characteristics of leadership, I thought it might be interesting to look at leadership from a different angle.

Do our community leaders deserve respect for their leadership? What if we take the risk to ask our young leaders about what inspires them or what disappoints them in leadership. I did just that. All in their early twenties, these ladies have a clear message about good and bad leadership.

Christine DeCora

Christine DeCora is a Casa Grande resident who feels three words define a good leader: ability, confidence and commitment.

Ability takes the willingness to get the job done while having confidence in yourself to be a leader. And it goes without saying that it is more than just a title. You have to have the commitment to follow

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

through on what you are going to do.

Christine was clear about the fact that the one thing a leader can do to make her lose faith in their leadership is their inability to be real or transparent.

Christine isn’t one to judge, sharing “We are all human and sometimes fail at life. Someone who is able to put down their pride, learn from their mistakes and still continue to lead people in the right direction is a leader with integrity”.

Larissa Amador

Larissa Amador believes a leader has to have the qualities of good listening skills, being humble and displaying excitement for what they believe in.

This Casa Grande native shared she doesn’t want to follow the example of someone who takes all the credit.

“Things are usually done by a team effort and you can’t be a leader if there isn’t a team”, Larissa said.

Larissa has learned from watching others. True leaders have to be good listeners and take into consideration the opinions and ideas of others. She went on to say, “Excitement puts people in a good mood and that motivates them”.

You never know when someone might just have a brilliant idea unless you take the time to listen. There’s something of value in her outspoken view, “A leader who is bossy is a deal breaker. Anyone can order someone to do something but when you push and motivate someone to do great things that takes real leadership”.

Katie Espinoza

Katie Espinoza of Tucson (formally of Casa Grande), characterizes leadership as someone who reflects the willingness to listen,

gives respect and has an open mind.

Katie revealed she loses respect for leaders who are wishy-washy and inconsistent, feeling strongly that “A leader needs to be able to assess the opinions of their team and make a decision efficiently. You can’t respect a leader who can’t make up his/her mind or isn’t willing to listen to their team”.

Anesia Estrada

Anesia Estrada learned many years ago about leadership by her own activities in Casa Grande. Having a conscious, integrity and being fearless draws her to a leader.

What turns her off is when someone doesn’t keep their word, can’t make a solid decision on their own or keeps changing it.

“I lose faith in their capabilities.

It’s understandable for a leader to seek answers from others but be clear from the beginning that you are uncertain of an answer. It drives me insane when you are given one answer and then later on are given a new one”.

These young leaders have already begun making their mark in our community through their involvement in school, work, church and community activities. It is interesting to know what gravitates them to leaders but it is equally important to know what turns them off.

Their views are inspiring and reflects a bond between integrity, good character and accountability. We have much to look forward to as each of them continue to build on their own qualities and mentor those who will follow in their footsteps. In the meantime, a bit of self-reflection might each of us a new focus. We’re never too old to learn from the insightful views of our youth, nor are we too good to admit we might just need a new approach.

While there are many different styles of leadership, the common foundation has proven that leaders are those who know how to achieve goals and inspire others along the way.

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Leadership Values

Leadership, could we ever use some.

by Harold Vangilder

Consistency is always creative; there is always a way to get to your goal. The inconsistent person is never creative and will desert your standards and values.

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I

am a political person. Politics is concurrently high comedy and low drama, and is never dull. I have been in Republican Grass roots politics for over 30 years; have served on numerous campaign committees as volunteer and paid worker. I have been active in Republican clubs in Cochise and Pinal County and was a founding member of the Western Pinal Republican Club.

We formed this club in 2001 with the aim of changing politics in Pinal, and we succeeded. This edition is devoted to leadership, and my op-ed will be about political leadership. I will describe what I think that is, and what it is not—and where you, the citizen, fits in.

There are two things that every citizen needs to know about politics. First, all actions of government are political in nature and only coincidentally rational. Second, government is a self-licking ice cream cone and the citizen needs to watch how much milk gets into the ice cream machine. This knowledge needs to be at the front of your mind all the time. These two maxims allow you to evaluate those who would desire to be your elected leader at every level of government.

Good leaders are consistent. That does not mean that they should never change positions; things can change and consistency is different from rigidity. Consistency gives you the stability from your elected leader that you deserve. Every act from your elected leader MUST prove that they are true to bedrock values. When I got here in 2001, we had a 19 point deficit with Democrats in registration. Republicans started beating the drum that if we ran things that government would become smaller and be less costly.

In 2010, we became the majority party in Pinal County and in the 2012 elections we took every political office with the exception of Supervisor Rio’s seat and the County Treasurer. So, how are we doing?

Let’s go to 2013. The new Republican controlled Board of Supervisors

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notified the other elected office holders that Pinal County would have $7 M less revenue in 2013 than in 2012.

They asked that everyone sharpen their pencils. Astoundingly, the elected officials (all Republicans save one) submitted requests for new spending totaling $20M. In fact, only the County Treasurer (the lone Democrat) and the County Superintendent of Public Instruction (a Republican) did not ask for any new funds. Remember our assertion, put us in and things will cost less. Raise your hand if you think county government is smaller.

Succumbing to fiscal reality, the Board of Supervisors declined most of these requests. After three years of Republican control, county government is not smaller and it costs you more. However; it is not completely the elected officials fault. You see, you—the voting public—is mostly silent about their failure to deliver. It is your fault that more milk gets into the ice cream machine. Government will only get smaller and less costly when you get serious and start demanding actual performance from those elected. Until that time, government at every level will come to you periodically and tell you that their interests are superior to yours. For example,

the structure of government needed the money, raised your taxes to get it, and you gave no indication that this made you mad. In fact, Supervisor Rios stated that if the levy was not implemented, then the Sheriff’s department response time could go up, and that people in Pinal County could die. Go to the county website and see for yourself. Imagine that, life and limb hang on a tax increase. Revenue has made the county budget lower; your cost has actually gone up.

So, what can you do? Well, ask this question of every candidate; “what will you do to make your department 10 percent smaller and 10 percent less costly in your first term?” If they can’t tell you how they will do that, don’t vote for them. If they come up with a plan, and don’t honor it, kick them out.

If you won’t do that then you deserve your role as a source of milk.

Consistency is demonstrated by fidelity to standards and values.

Consistency is always creative; there is always a way to get to your goal. The inconsistent person is never creative and will desert your standards and values. I will now watch with great interest to see how much more milk you will be required to put into the ice cream machine.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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continued from page 66...

Around the globe Zonta: • Is comprised of a culturally diverse group of women and men from a wide variety of professions representing 67 countries,1200 clubs and 30,000 members, who share a commitment to working for women’s rights and gender equality, through service and advocacy.

• Builds bridges to peace by establishing a strong collaboration with the United Nations to promote justice and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

• Fosters high ethical standards to implement service programs and provide mutual support and fellowship for members who serve their communities, their nations and the world.

• Sponsors Z Clubs and Golden Z Clubs for high school, college and university students • Leads the way with informing and encouraging women facing cultural and linguistic barriers by participating in the following global projects: • The Elimination of Obstetric Fistula and the Reduction of Maternal and Newborn Mortality and Morbidity in Liberia • Working Toward an HIV I-free Generation and Effective Prevention and a Response to Gender Based Violence in Rwanda • Gender Responsive Schools Pilot Model in Vietnam (includes working with young men).

• Respecting the Rights and Responding to the Needs of Adolescent Girls in Niger • Voices against violence: a non-formal Education Curriculum for the world

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Serving Casa Grande, Arizona City, Coolidge, Eloy & Maricopa Since 1982

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14th Annual Zonta Community Gala Zonta’s 2015 Community Gala, Soaring to Success: NO Limits, NO Boundaries, will be hosted by the Zonta Club of Casa Grande Valley on November 14, 2015 and will be held at The Property Conference Center, in Casa Grande. This event, open to the public, will feature fabulous food, wine tasting, a beer garden, a mocktail bar, live music and a photo booth. The highlights of the evening will be a Live Auction as well as a Silent Auction.

Over 200 members and guests from throughout Casa Grande Valley are expected to attend.

The funds earned at this event through donations from business and guests will help support the Zonta mission of providing scholarships, supporting women and children in domestic violence situations and women in recovery situations, and the many other local projects. All money collected will remain in this community.

Tickets are available from any Zonta member, at 520-509-1448 or visit www.zontaaz.org(Casa Grande Valley) to purchase tickets by PayPal or credit card.

For more information about the Community Gala or membership in Zonta, contact the current president of the club: Linda Irvin, 520-560-5487 or visit the Zonta International website: www. zonta.org or the local Area 6 website: www.zontaaz.org

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THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

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Annual Business Showcase

Chamber’s Annual Business Showcase T

he 24th Annual Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce Business Showcase will be held Wednesday, October 14, 2015, 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm, at The Property Conference Center, 1251 W. Gila Bend Highway, in Casa Grande.

The popular autumn event is open to the public to attend for $5.00 per person at the door and is co-sponsored by the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce; The Property Conference Center; Southwest Airlines; Promenade at Casa Grande; APS; Banner Casa Grande Medical Center; Sam’s Club; Hospice Compassus and Ehrbright & Hankel, DDS. More than 50 area businesses will set up displays and information about the services and products they offer and many will offer promotional giveaways and drawings for their products and/or services.

“As a business-advocacy organization, the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce provides this opportunity for the public to connect with the business community and see the many services and products available in the Casa Grande area,” said Helen Neuharth, President/CEO of the Chamber.

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The evening will also offer the drawings for a Vacation Get-Away package; Stay-cation and Shopping Spree. The Vacation Get-Away is two tickets on Southwest Airlines – anywhere Southwest Airlines flies (some restrictions may apply). The second prize, “Stay-cation,” is a gas grill donated by Sam’s Club for an at-home vacation in your own backyard. Third prize is a $250 Shopping Spree which may be used at any store at The Promenade at Casa Grande or can be used at any Macerich Mall. Tickets for the drawings are available for $10.00 per ticket or three tickets for $20.00 at the Chamber office, 575 N. Marshall St., Casa Grande and will be sold the evening of the Business Showcase.

Tickets will be sold until 7:00 pm and the drawings will be held at 7:15 pm at the event. Ticket holders need not be present to win.

For more information about the 24th Annual Business Showcase and the drawings to be held, please contact the Chamber at (520) 836-2125, info@ casagrandechamber.org, or visit the Chamber’s website, www.casagrandechamber.org.

Open to the public to attend, October 14, 2015.

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Coldwell Banker Professional Agents Donna Anderson

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David Schlagel

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The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 74... phone number?

MAYOR JACKSON: I have it. Thank you. And Steve and I have had this conversation, you know, that if, if you’re going to go after a county-wide sales tax increase for transportation, you need to be very clear about where you’re gonna spend it. Because if you’re not going to spend any of it in the cities, then why should the people of Casa Grande who are already getting a third of what they should be getting in the half-cent sales tax support something like that? Haven’t got a good answer yet, but certainly, over the next year or so, as the election gets closer, it’s going to become an issue.

GC LIVING: So, what is it? What do you want your legacy to be?

MAYOR JACKSON: I would hope that, that when I walk out of office, number one, and we’ve said this earlier, that people are better off today than they were when we started.

I ran on two or three things that I thought were important. One of them is we needed to bring jobs in here, and I think that the economic development business takes three or four years to cultivate. And certainly over the last two or three years, I mean we’ve got a Sam’s Club, we’ve got a yogurt plant, we’ve got a cream cheese plant, we’ve seen expansions of Hexcel, ACO Polymer, Frito-Lay. We have created a couple thousand jobs, and in a community our size - we’re 50,000 people - so our workforce is probably 21,000, 22,000 people. Think about 10% of them have jobs they didn’t have before. Tractor Supply, we just landed them. We’re talking to prospects today that will increase that job total even more. And I think, first and foremost, that’s what I want to be known for, that we did a good job of bringing new industry into town that helped us diversify our economy and put people back to work.

Second, I ran on a, on a platform of we need to get along with our neighbors better and right now, every other month, the mayors of Maricopa, Eloy, Coolidge, Casa Grande, Florence and Marana, get together and have lunch, in one of the five or six cities. Unscripted, no agenda, just sit down and, and talk about issues. The beauty that that’s created is that when something happens on our borders, I can call up, say, Christian Price on the phone and say, “Hey, Christian, what’s going on with this?” And

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it’s not the mayor of Casa Grande talking to the mayor of Maricopa; its Christian Price and Bob Jackson talking as friends.

It’s made a huge difference in the relationship between the cities. And that was so important that I thought when I ran that we had pretty much burned our bridges with most of our neighbors that we needed to fix those. I think if we sit here today, one of the conversations that Jim Thompson and I are having, is we’ve come off about 200 million dollars in infrastructure projects. Where do we want to spend the next 200? That will be long after my time in office, but we need to start having those discussions today because it’s going to take that long for them to happen.

Oh, and the third one is Phoenix Mart, and while we could go on a whole long discussion about Phoenix Mart, when that finally happens, it will be a game-changer for our community.

GC LIVING: So, an easy way to look at it is, you’re an engineer …

MAYOR JACKSON: I am.

GC LIVING: … and as mayor you expanded infrastructure, and kept everything on track and on budget and created jobs …

MAYOR JACKSON: Mm-hmm.

GC LIVING: … and accomplished … in a very difficult economic environment, extremely good stewardship.

MAYOR JACKSON: Well, and, and keep in mind that it didn’t happen as one person. It is truly a team effort. We’ve got a great staff and the council, for the most part, understands where we’re trying to go and we all agree on where we want to go. We just don’t all agree on how to get there all the time.

GC LIVING: And that would be more quality of life issues?

MAYOR JACKSON: Yes. GC LIVING: Performing arts centers, recreation centers.

MAYOR JACKSON: You bet.

GC LIVING: Trail systems.

MAYOR JACKSON: Yup, and we talk about site selectors coming in for new companies. First thing they look at is education.

Next thing they look at is availability of land and cost and workforce and those kinds of things. But somewhere in that top five or six on the list is quality of life issues, and if you don’t have the quality of life issues, they may locate their facility here, but their plant manager is gonna live up in the valley.

That’s why those quality of life issues are so critical.

GC LIVING: Okay. As you look forward in the next year, there are some political races coming up. What have you heard about who will be running for mayor and/or what are your thoughts on the environment that’s already forming leading up to the next elections?

MAYOR JACKSON: Well, I will say, first of all, I’ve, I’ve heard the same rumors everybody else has, okay, so I’m not trying to be coy about it, but I’m not sure that people want me to put them out of the closet in the magazine about their name.

GC LIVING: Well, give us a scoop.

MAYOR JACKSON: Yeah. Uh …

GC LIVING: Come on.

MAYOR JACKSON: But here is the deal. I think that, if people feel that we made progress in my tenure on the council, then they need to probably replace me with somebody that is like-minded. And if you don’t like where we’ve gone over the last six, or seven, or eight years, then maybe you need a change of outlook. And I think that, and I don’t want to sound self-serving about it, but I really do think we’ve made a lot of progress in the last seven or eight years, and I hope whoever comes in to take my place has a similar mindset about how do we get ourselves from 55,000 people in a regional center into being the center of the megapolitan area of Phoenix and Tucson.

I said a couple of years ago with my State of the City - and I was absolutely serious - we used to be a city that was afraid that we’re gonna get gobbled up by Phoenix or Tucson. And what we need to do and I think we’re well on the way of doing that, is create our own identity, so that when Phoenix and Tucson show up at our doorstep, and you know they will eventually, we can say, “Hey, we’re really glad you’re here. Welcome to our town.” And so, we’re dictating what our future will be, instead of letting them do that.

And I think that, as you look at the mayoral and council candidates that are coming, that will pop up, who has the, the future-looking, or the foresight to say, “Here’s where we need to get to, how are we going to do it?” as opposed to looking backwards and saying, “Well, I remember what Casa Grande looked like 10 years ago, and I was really happy with that. Why are we chang-

continued on page 82...

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The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 80... ing?” Ten years ago, we didn’t have a mall, you know? I mean, 10 years ago, my wife and I, when we wanted to go shopping, we’d end up going up to Phoenix. We didn’t have a … we had a movie theater, but it’s certainly nothing like the movie theater we have today. We have a trail system up on CG Mountain that we didn’t have 10 years ago.

I don’t want to go back where we were 10 years ago. I want to see where we’re going to be 10 years now, and at that point, I’ll be too old to care, so ...

GC LIVING: One last question about city manager Jim Thompson.

MAYOR JACKSON: Yeah.

GC LIVING: We think he’s done a pretty good job in a challenging environment, but we hear whispers about his plans. Do you know what’s in his near future?

MAYOR JACKSON: Question is, you know Jim … you’ve said several times that Jim has been a huge asset in helping move the city forward.

GC LIVING: We believe so.

MAYOR JACKSON: Um, you know, you’ve got a, a potential new council, new mayor, what’s in Jim’s future? Jim is a pretty complex guy and he’s had some personal issues that have happened to him. I won’t go into them ‘cause it’s not fair to Jim to do that, but people who know them know what they are, and it’s been hard for him. He teaches a master’s level class at ASU right now part time, does it with full consent of the council. The beauty of that is we get the best and brightest masters in public administration students that want to come down here and work for Jim Thompson for free, or for next to free. So, young minds, good ideas, that’s all Jim Thompson.

In the Arizona retirement system, there’s this magic number called 80 points and it’s a combination of your years of service and your age. Jim is approaching his 80 points and I think that he’s going to have to make a decision. Do I want to retire at 80 points and go to a different state, go to a different city? Do I want to go teach fulltime? And

I’ve been lucky enough to have been a guest speaker at some of his classes at, at ASU and I joke with him about that “They’re paying you for this, and you have an outside speaker coming and talk to the class and you just sit there and listen”! But I know he’s a very good teacher. The people he’s hired really liked working for him, liked his management style. And, and I think that it’s, it’s just a matter of time before he does leave and I think that, that we will be far worse for it when it happens.

I would never want to be a city manager and Jim and I have had this conversation multiple times. Early in my working career, I spent six months with an interim city manager, I was never so happy to see somebody come to work in my life and I said to myself, “That is not a, a career path I want to go down.” It is a thankless job and you’ve got seven high-ego people that you’ve got to keep happy. I think Jim has 10 or 12 department heads that he’s got to keep focused

continued on page 84...

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The Blackbox Foundation

BLACKBOX IS BACK!

by Ken Ferguson & Stacey Seaman

T

he BlackBox Foundation, a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization, is proud to announce the opening of our new Studio for the Arts in downtown Casa Grande! We celebrated with a ribbon cutting grand opening and an opening weekend of one act plays featuring the New Terminus Players in early August.

Our studio is a space for rehearsals, workshops, classes, and small performances rolled into one. We are currently rehearsing two youth theater productions, which will be performed there in October. Additionally, we offer drop-in improv classes for kids, a musical theater voice class, and improv for teens and adults.

At BlackBox, we support all local arts. We host monthly art workshops and shows and feature a new local artist in our “Artist Corner” each quarter. We also produce music and theater shows, hold monthly open mic

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nights, host local and visiting musicians in concert, and, during the winter months, offer a weekly Brown Bag Lunch Concert Series.

Also, don’t forget to mark your calendars for our first annual Bacon Lovers Art Festival on November 14! Finally, we always have entertainment in our space during downtown First Fridays, so drop-in and say hello!

It that weren’t enough, we are pleased to offer bigger music and theater opportunities for our community at the beautiful Hermosa Ballroom through our partnership with Robson Ranch. We are thrilled to kick off this series with international recording artist Esteban who will be performing in a matinee concert on Saturday, October 31. Get your tickets now before they sell out! We are also excited to offer a large family friendly community Christmas musical called Miracle!

Based on the beloved story Miracle on 34th St, this musical is a “can’t miss” event in Casa

Grande this Christmas season. In January, we offer the dynamic Dueling Pianos during our annual fundraising dinner: the BlackBox Mad Hatter’s Bash. More great entertainment will follow in the spring!

It’s obvious that the BlackBox Foundation is YOUR hometown arts connection. For more information, or to purchase tickets to any of these events and more, please visit our website at www.blackboxaz.com, call 520-428-7050 or drop by our studio during our office hours: Tuesday ¬ Saturday, 10AM to 2PM. Also, sign up for our weekly email blast and like us on Facebook to make sure you’re getting all of the latest and most updated information about upcoming events. We are always looking for volunteers and local sponsors for our programs, so please contact us if you’re interested in either of those opportunities as well.

Thank you to everyone in the community who help support the arts!

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The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 82... moving forward and he does a remarkable job at it. And the game in the city management business is trying to make sure you never get to a point where you have four people that are, um, that want to see you gone because it, it only takes four votes and you’re out.

So, I think that, that we’ve had some pretty difficult issues that have popped up over the last couple of years and while don’t really want to talk a lot about the police chief issue, that was one of them. And we’ve got some issues in the fire department. A huge chunk of the city’s general tax rate goes to fund police and fire and some of the rank and file have been unhappy with Jim for a long time, because he has to tell them no. Ultimately, the decision is the council’s, but we can’t go out there as a responsible council and say, “Hey, yeah, we’ll give you a 20% pay raise,” where’s the money going to come from, you know?

We talked earlier about this whole PTO program. One of the challenges we have is we have 55-hour-a-week employees which are firefighters, because they work a 24hour shift, and we have 40-hour-a-week employees. You convert from the system we’re in now to a PTO system and you have to look at the maximum accumulation that you will allow people to have because it’s a financial liability. We had a group of the firefighters who came in and we said, “We propose a 780-hour maximum of accumulation a time.” They wanted 1,000. Well, you can’t do that for the 52-hour-a-week employees and not do it for the 40-hour employees also.

So at our meeting last night, we were talking about that. The cost of, of going to the 1,000 hours for firefighters and bumping up the 40-hour employees at the same percentage-wise is gonna cost the city 2.5 million dollars. We don’t have that kind of money and it’s not fair to treat one group one way and everybody else the other way.

And, you know, we have a huge percentage of our employees that are saying, “We love this PTO program and we want to go with it.” We have 400 employees and I think firefighters are about 45 of them, plus or minus, and there’s about half of them, I believe, liked the idea of PTO, so why are we having this discussion?

But Jim has had to spend an, you know, in-

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ordinate amount of, of goodwill, if you will, with the council trying to get us there and he knows that it is probably the right thing to do because, as the workforce changes, the millennials are looking at PTO issues, not vacation and sick leave issues. And I think sometimes, I don’t think I know. You get tired of fighting the battle, you know? I try to go to city hall every day. I don’t see Jim every day. Sometimes he’s in when I’m not and whatever, but we talk a lot and, and I can see the frustration; accumulation of all those things is taking its toll. And he has a standing job offer with ASU for a full professorship if he wants to take it.

I was joking with him the other day because when I ran for my final term, I told him “Jim, if I agree to run one more time, I want to make damn sure you don’t leave while I’m in it.” And he said “Bob, absolutely. I’ll be here ‘til the end of your term” because I think his target date was sometime in June of ‘17. We were joking around the other day and he says, “Well, you know,” he said, “I could probably retire earlier than that.” I looked at him and said, “Jim?” and he remembered the conversation. I said, “You promised me if I ran one more time, you would stay here until I was done,” and he started laughing. He goes, “I don’t remember that.” “Yeah, you don’t remember that?!”

But I think he’s done a great job for the city and whatever he does, I would wish him the best. I think he’ll do a great job and I think the city of Casa Grande has been better for it and I think we would lose something when he leaves.

GC LIVING: The city just hired a new PIO, right?

MAYOR JACKSON: We did.

GC LIVING: Just a suggestion and just a peripheral observation; every time I sit down with you or Jim or anyone else who knows what’s going on, after the conversation, it turns out that things are in pretty good shape, a pretty good job is being done managing the circus.

MAYOR JACKSON: Mm-hmm.

GC LIVING: And yet, from the standpoint of the man on the street, he reads things and hears things, it’s just an absolute nightmare, it’s a mess - the end of the world - and I just don’t understand why the word doesn’t get out.

MAYOR JACKSON: You know, we’ve had kind of a double whammy, it’s one or the other things, and, I don’t want to talk about me,

but when I came into office, one of my frustrations was our electronic footprint was horrible in the community. We had a great webmaster at the time and he took us from there to a point where we’re getting like 22 or 23 million hits a year on our website.

GC LIVING: Wow. MAYOR JACKSON: And we have website blasts now that you can subscribe to, and I’m sure you guys do that so you get web blasts of things that are going on in the city. And we do press releases to the media all the time, and it’s really up to them whether they want to print them or not. We’re sitting here in August and a great article in the paper yesterday I thought about thepublic works division, kind of the unsung heroes …

GC LIVING: Mm-hmm.

MAYOR JACKSON: … of, of Casa Grande.

GC LIVING: Mm-hmm.

MAYOR JACKSON: Each PIO we’ve had has had different strengths and weaknesses and we have been without a webmaster and without a PIO for about three months.

And the website hasn’t had much going on in it. So, we decided because the webmaster works for the PIO, we’d hire her first and then hire the webmaster that will help.

The first webmaster or first PIO I dealt with was a young lady whose strength was print media and she wasn’t there very long after I came in and we replaced her with a guy named David Bridger.

David came out of the electronic media world and he did a great job of getting out in the community and, hyping the city.

He had an untimely death and we replaced him with a gentleman named Agustin Avalos. Agustin’s strength was the technical side of the job and at the time he came in that’s exactly what we needed.

We wanted to start televising our council meetings; we wanted to beef up our web pages. Agustin did a fabulous job of doing that. He started doing his little TV program called City Scene.

I don’t know a lot about Kayla, the new PIO. Certainly is a ball of energy and I do think that she’s got some really good ideas as to how she can help tell that story. I would love to be able to have the newspaper and local media tell our story for us, but I think we can’t sit here and wait for them to do that. We have to be more aggressive

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The Voice of Leadership

by Kristin Gramando

G

ood leaders are good communicators. Leadership is the art of persuading others to do what you wish to be done. To do so, you need to communicate and you need to work as a team. In a Toastmasters club, you’ll do both; and you’ll find out how to vary your approach to suit the needs of different people, whether they’re the audience for a speech or the committee for a fundraiser. Whatever your goals you wish to achieve in life, they will be realized quicker and easier by improving your ability to lead.

There are ten things you can do starting today to be a better leader: • Be a positive role model.

• Be humble.

• Practice effective communication.

• Find a mentor.

• Be emotionally aware.

• Encourage creativity.

• Be passionate about your work.

• Know your team.

• Think positive.

• Be yourself.

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Confident, charismatic leaders weren’t born that way. In Toastmasters you’ll gain the practice to become the leader and speaker you want to be. Become a better negotiator. Gain trust. Sharpen your management skills. Inspire your team. Be decisive!

The mission statement of Toastmasters International is, “We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders”.

The Club Mission statement says, “We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth”.

Since 1924, Toastmasters has helped millions of men and women become confident in front of an audience. Our network of clubs and their learn-by-doing program are sure to help you become a better speaker and leader.

There are Toastmasters clubs in Casa Grande, Coolidge, Maricopa and Florence. Signal Peak Toastmasters meets at the Sun Life Family Health Center, 865 N. Arizola Road in Casa Grande on the west end of the building. Arrive about 6:15 pm for a meeting that begins at 6:30 each Thursday. Visitors are always welcome.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Being a Landlord is Hard!

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eing a landlord requires more work and effort than just collecting the rent. Here are the Top Ten reasons why hiring a local property manager is a wise decision that can actually save you money in the end!

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Marketing: Property managers use a variety of resources to reach out to qualified, prospective tenants including company websites, public websites such as craigslist, area print such as newspapers or magazines, flyers and walk-in traffic. Renters know which property management companies to seek out.

Knowledge of availability and pricing: Tenants know if a property is overpriced. Accurate knowledge of local rental rates and inventory is key to a fast rental and cash flow. Vacant homes cost the owner money.

Leased homes make money!

Tenant Screening: A property manager requires a written application from each adult applicant along with photo ID. The PM reviews criminal history, credit reports and other public records, verifies references, employment and rental history according to set requirements and standards for accepting or declining applicants.

Knowledgeable about Laws and Regulations: A property manager maintains compliance with an up-to-date and thorough knowledge of the Arizona/ Landlord Tenants Act, Fair Housing Regulations, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable local, state and federal laws. Lawsuits are costly!

Rent Collection & Eviction: Property managers have systems in place to improve collection and on-time payments. Property documentation if payment is not made according to lease terms (and law) is imperative to replacing the tenant as quickly as lawfully possible.

Accounting: Property managers provide monthly detailed income and expense reports as well as year-end tax reports for your accountant. Property managers also manage your security deposits in compliance with regulations.

Regular Inspections: Property managers regularly

inspect your home for wear & tear, damage and needed maintenance. Typical times for inspection include the time of leasing, 180 days later and at the end of the lease. Some even inspect monthly by scheduling HVAC filter replacement as part of the lease agreement.

8. Emergency Calls: A property management company is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year when the tenant calls with an emergency. Some calls are urgent and require immediate attention. Do you want to deal with a broken pipe at 2am?

9. Vendor Network: Property managers have a list of qualified vendors, supplies and contractors available to repair and maintain your property. Many times a property manager is able to negotiate a discount based on volume.

10. Cost of Service vs. How Much Is Your Time Worth? Property management fees vary company by company. By dealing with your tenant and any problems you have invaluable free time making the managements fees very affordable and many times can actually save you money!

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Seeds of Hope

Meet Mariela Seeds of Hope After School Coordinator

by Terri Durham, Office Coordinator

A

fter-school program coordinator, Mariela Medel, believes the future can be better for every child who walks through the door

at the Mondo Anaya Community Center because she was once just like them. Growing up in a low-income single-parent home she understands the hardships

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many of our kids go through, but she doesn’t let it define her.

She’s worked for Seeds of Hope since 1998 starting out as a peer leader while still in high school, moving up to after school assistant after graduating, and is now the after school coordinator.

The strong bond she formed with the former after school coordinator is what motivates her to be an influential role model, hoping to be that same supportive mentor to someone else. She focuses on the positive in every child and encourages them to make good choices and stay in school.

Mariela leads by example.

After graduating from high school Mariela was unable to start college because of her legal status. It took a lot longer than expected to remedy the situation, and by the time she became a legal resident she was also a wife and mom. The dream of going to college had faded and seemed out of reach, until now. Fourteen years after graduating from high

school, Mariela is enrolled at Central Arizona College this fall. And some of her biggest supporters are the kids she mentors in the after school program.

At Seeds of Hope, leadership comes in many shapes and forms.

It’s not about having a title, experience, or a degree; its people making a difference in the lives of those they touch. And Mariela is making a difference in the lives of kids every day.

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The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 84... and more proactive about it. So, she’s been on the job for a week, and we’re going to sit down and have some of those conversations about what can we do to better tell our story.

Also, one of my little pet projects is I see all the good things that are happening in our schools, but all I read in the media is all the bad things that are happening at our schools. And so, I’ve suggested to Jim, and I think he’s onboard with that, that maybe we’d see if we can’t use our PIO to help the two school districts better get their story out there. We don’t want our PIO to become their PIO, but I know Frank Davidson does it for the elementary school district and Shannon Goodsell does it for the high school district. If we can help them get that word out better, maybe we do some stuff on our website.

But it is so critical that we get over this hump of people saying, “Oh, our schools in Casa Grande are just not very good.”

Schools in Casa Grande are excellent.

They’re just getting bad press and that’s what we need to overcome.

GC LIVING: You brought up an issue that I meant to question you earlier about: the council meetings being televised. From the point of view of a cynic, the meetings before televising were dissembling, self-serving and whatever but now they seem to be more about posturing for the camera...there’s a new ...

MAYOR JACKSON: A new dynamic.

GC LIVING: Yes, a new dynamic to that and we have wanna-be actors who just want to go on the video record and make their dissembling statements there.

MAYOR JACKSON: You know it’s funny because 99% of the time I don’t even remember we’re being televised. Is there posturing going on, absolutely. Think about who is up for re-election and I’m not going to sit here and say who they are because you can go look. But look and see who is running for re-election ...

GC LIVING: … and what they’re saying.

MAYOR JACKSON: And what they’re saying and, and I do think that there is some posturing, and not only is it on TV and it’s on TV multiple times, you can also watch it on the internet now. So if you don’t have Cox Cable you can watch it on the internet live

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or anytime you want and do I think there’s posturing going on, absolutely there is. You got an audience; I don’t know how many people watch. Maybe you got 5,000 people watching, why not posture a little bit?

GC LIVING: For whoever is watching I think it’s pretty clear, and I don’t think it’s positive...

MAYOR JACKSON: Drives me nuts sometimes but the challenge with being the mayor and I tell everybody this, you have to let people speak their mind but you have to move the meeting along too. And I know I’ve certainly been criticized by a couple of council people, that I cut off the discussion before it’s finished but if you’ve repeated the same thing ten times, I don’t need to hear it an eleventh time. And we talked a little bit about gauging where the council is … if I see that a majority of the council has made up their mind with where they want to go, let’s stop discussing and let’s vote on it and move the meeting along. Otherwise, we’re gonna be here till midnight.

GC LIVING: Okay so what’s next for Bob? Are you going to take up wood carving?

MAYOR JACKSON: You know, I don’t really know, I want to stay focused on what I’m trying to do as a Mayor. As you know, I do have an Engineering degree, and although I haven’t for the last 5 or 6 years, I do project work occasionally for people. I just finished a project manager gig for a domestic violence shelter over in Maricopa. I did it for free ‘cause I don’t need the money but I love doing that kind of work, so I may go back and do some of that type of Engineering work. And I love to play golf! I played 18 holes this year - 9 holes on 2 different days, but don’t have the time, don’t have the schedule. So I would like to spend some time doing that and I would like to spend some time with my wife and family.

It’s an interesting job because you don’t have regular hours. Yesterday - I actually can’t remember what I did yesterday - but we had a council meeting last night. So, I mean I’m working till 8:30-9:00, when I get home. And there are days where I’ll have a meeting in the morning, maybe nothing in the afternoon, and then a night meeting. So, they’re crazy hours, and it would be nice to have some stability, so if we wanted to do some traveling we could do that. I have a son who lives in L.A., if I wanted to see him, I could do that more often. Just

spend some me time for awhile and maybe get back the things I like to do with some engineering work.

GC LIVING: So no other office runs?

MAYOR JACKSON: Oh God, no. No. I’ve had a lot of people ask me that question but what would I run for, you know?

GC LIVING: Governor?

MAYOR JACKSON: S*** yeah, no thanks.

Number 1; I don’t have the political machine behind me.

GC LIVING: Well, with a face like that you could go almost anywhere.

MAYOR JACKSON: Yeah right. You know it’s funny, about the state Legislature, they get paid horrible. They need to get more money. You couldn’t pay me enough to be a State Legislator. Talk about a thankless job! There are 90 of them up there and it’s bad enough working with a group of 7. I can’t imagine what it would be like working with 90.

When I ran the first time I really did it ‘cause I didn’t like the direction we were headed and just felt like somebody needed to do it. And that’s why I ran the way I ran. It was like look, if you’re happy with the way we are then vote for the incumbent. If you’re not happy for the way you are vote for me. And I was lucky enough to get elected the first time.

GC LIVING: Final words of wisdom?

MAYOR JACKSON: I think Casa Grande is a great place to live and people who know me, know I’ve moved multiple times, I’ve lived in multiple states, in 15 or 16 cities and when we moved here in 1991, I remember my wife and I both felt like this is where we wanted to live. Because it’s close to the metro area, if I want to do something that requires, the big city you can. Judy and I share season tickets to the Diamondbacks, and if we want to go to a pro baseball game it’s only 45 minutes away but you still have the small town feel and I think that more than anything else, moving forward, we need to see, try to achieve keeping that small town feel as we get larger in population and that happens by having ownership in the community. And hopefully the new leadership that comes in will have that same philosophy and will keep that small town feel here until we get to be 100,000; 200,000; 300,000 people.

GC LIVING: Thank you.

MAYOR JACKSON: Okay, thank you. 

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ROX Expeditions

The Reluctant

by Jerry Chinn

What We Do For Love

Traveling light, knowing how and what to pack is an art form… one that definitely needs to be employed when going to Africa on a photosafari.

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My wife, Tori, has a strong attachment to her hairdryer and meticulous cosmetic routine. So, picturing her in the African bush, in a tent with no electricity and no running water might be a stretch. Never the less, with braids and a brave smile, here she was.

I’ve been leading photography workshop-safaris in southern Africa over the last ten years, and each time I go it’s unique and exciting.

Tori and I had been married for two years, during which she listened to my stories and saw countless photos I took of Africa’s exotic wildlife, colorful birds and intriguing indigenous people.

However, photos and stories can never tell the whole story. It’s something that has to be experienced… something I had to share with my wife.

Not a novice traveler by any means, Tori has checked off a number of countries throughout Europe and the Caribbean. However, an Africa safari wasn’t on the top, or even the middle, of her “wanna-do” list. So, I was more than a little surprised when my persistence actually paid off, and she agreed to join me and the 12 group participants going to Botswana.

“You’re the photographer,” she in-

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sisted. “I’m just an amateur.” I assured her that didn’t matter, explaining that the whole objective of the workshop is to increase each participant’s technical skill and artistic sensitivity from whatever their present level of expertise. “Besides,” I said, “it’s not just about getting great photos; it’s just as much about the experience.” That helped her realize she could enjoy the trip, whether or not she brought home the perfect photo.

Before each photo workshop-tour, I consult one-on-one with each participant online, or in person if possible. This helps to them to be better prepared and know what to expect. Knowing that she would primarily be shooting photos of wildlife outdoors, Tori decided to use a digital “cropped-format” SLR camera with a 70-300mm zoom lens.

Travel-Photo Tip #1. Plan ahead - have a good idea of the situations and conditions you are likely to encounter and what you want to photograph. Ensure your equipment choices are suited to the task; for example, if the highlight of your trip will be interiors (museums, churches, etc.), you will want a camera-lens combo that performs well with dim light and in small spaces. Shooting outdoor landscapes, you would want different or additional equipment.

Today’s world of digital photography and camera equipment is very different than how I originally learned photography in college… back in the day of film and darkrooms. However, I encourage photographers and wouldbe photographers to take advantage of the functionality and intelligence of current photo equipment and editing programs. On safari, this allows us to give more attention to the artistic and story-telling aspects of photography, rather than the mechanics of manipu-

lating buttons and dials.

We’re On Our Way

Traveling light, knowing how and what to pack is an art form… one that definitely needs to be employed when going to Africa on a photo-safari. First, because most international destinations require changing planes and going through customs and immigration, sometimes more than once, trying to manage large or multiple bags is a hassle best to be avoided. Secondly, when going to places other than big cities with large airports, flying more than likely will require boarding a small commuter-type plane. Such commuter planes and flight services generally limit passengers to one soft-sided bag weighing less than 37 pounds. That’s not a lot when you add-in camera equipment. So, being very selective is a must.

Travel-Photo Tip #2. Carry-on and stay calm – Avoid the chances of lost, delayed or mishandled luggage by limiting yourself to one carry-on bag and one “personal item.” Pack a minimum of multi-use garments (i.e. pant-shorts) that can be layered, mixed and matched, with fabrics easily basin-washed and hang-dried overnight (pack a travel clothesline).

Like most, Tori has learned a lot of travel tricks the hard way… by trial and error. So, she already knew a lot of the travel and packing tips I share with group participants. Come travel day, we were ready with our travel vest, small (“personal item”) daypack and one carry-on bag. Adding to the challenge, we had decided to stop over in Switzerland for four days on the way. I recommend taking a break someplace in Europe, as southern Africa is just about as far away as one can possibly travel from North America. From experience, I discovered traveling straight

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

ROX Expeditions

Adventurer – Part I through can add up to as much as 36 hours, including layovers and multiple plane/airline changes.

The “fun” part about packing for a stop in Switzerland before going to Africa is they have two completely different climates, Switzerland rather chilly and Africa very warm. As you might guess, there’s an effective strategy for that situation too… one I’ll be happy to share with anyone who asks. Anyway, another person from the group, Rick, decided to join us on the Switzerland leg of our journey, and together the three of us had a fabulous time, but that’s story I’ll save for another time.

face meeting. There was a woman from Canada, another from New York, and one from Ohio. They were joined by a ranching couple from Texas, with the balance of the group from Arizona. However, age differences and hometowns were quickly overcome by common interests and the excitement to begin our photo workshop-safari.

Everyone, including Tori, forgot all apprehension about “fitting in.”

It wasn’t long before our flight was called for the short, one-hour, commuter hop to Maun, Botswana. The flight was comfortable and uneventful, but touching down at the Maun “International” Airport we knew we weren’t in Kansas

anymore and our adventure had begun.

See the next edition for Part II of the Reluctant Adventurer.

Jerry Chinn an insatiable globe-trotter and award-winning photographer. As Program Director for ROX Expeditions, he develops and coordinates unique small-group (6-12 persons) and special-interest tours. Currently available tours for 2016 include photo workshops-tours to Cuba, India, Iceland, South America, and Antarctica, as well as a June wine/culinary river cruise of Bordeaux, France. For more information, Jerry can be contacted at: jerry@roxexpeditions.com

Welcome To Africa

Our first stop on the African continent was Johannesburg, South Africa.

The airport is a very busy international hub, and while sleek and modern, it’s a gigantic labyrinth of shops, restaurants, terminals and gates. It’s also incredibly inefficient, and long lines and wait times are the norm. It’s also a haven for scam artists and thieves on the lookout for inattentive tourists and expensive camera equipment. As our group gathered together at the prearranged location, I was happy to see they had heeded the warnings and advice they were given.

Travel-Photo Tip #3. Under the radar – shun clothes and accessories, watches, etc. that signal thieves you might be traveling with high-value items. This is especially true for your camera gear. Discreetly stow camera equipment in a generic backpack or bag, not in an obvious logo-marked camera bag and resist displaying or playing with your gear in crowded public places.

Although group members previously “met” during the online webinars, for most it was the first actual face-to-

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

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Eliminate Stress HEALTH

STRESS 101

by Susan Conn-Hood, Certified Yoga/Fitness Instructor & Juice Plus Whole Food Educator

The cheapest medicine we have is exercise, deep focused breathing and watching your diet.

E

xperts are divided over exactly how to define stress; some think that it’s primarily an external response that can be measured by changes in the glandular secretions, skin reactions and other physical functions. Others assert that it’s an internal interpretation of, or reaction to, a stressor, which might be defined as something in one’s environment that strains one adaptive capacity and threatens one’s well being. Often stress is a combination of anxiety-which is an emotion about the future-and depression, which is about a loss or sense of loss, either perceived or actual.

Yet, to our bodies, the source of the

stress is irrelevant. It can’t distinguish between economic stress and marital or overwork-related stress. Stress researcher Dr. Kevin Pelletier has reported that an astonishing 80 percent to 90 percent of all illness is stress related and that nearly 100 million Americans suffer from stress related illness.

Symptoms of Stress

The primary physiological agent of stress is cortisol, the so called “stress hormone” our body secretes when faced with a fight or flight situation.

Small increases of cortisol have positive effects, such as a quick burst of energy, heightened memory, increased immunity and a lower sensitivity to pain.

However if the stressful situation isn’t alleviated, the body will continue to pump out higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol, which causes a litany of health problems: impaired cognitive function, blood sugar imbalances, loss of muscle and bone density and more abdominal fat, higher blood pressure and lower immunity.

Habits to Fight Stress

The cheapest medicine we have is exercise, deep focused breathing and

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watching your diet. Studies have found that exercise increases the ability of the body to mobilize energy and prepares the body to better cope with stress when it occurs. Another study found that exercise puts people into a more relaxed state because it reduces anxiety and blood pressure. By taking 4-6 deep cleansing breaths- count to four on the inhale through your nose and count to six on the exhale thru your mouth-you can help to reduce stress at any time.

In times of financial belt tightening, you can still indulge in inexpensive exercise such as walking, hiking, jogging, and biking – 30-60 minutes at least five days a week.

Regarding eating habits-green leafy vegetables contain high amounts of calcium and magnesium, which are known to relax one’s system. Foods high in B vitamins and C vitamins and amino acids are fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Drinking green tea has immune boosting properties too. Avoid deleterious substances such as fatty foods, fast food, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.

So calm those nerves and take positive action in the control of daily Stress.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Casa Grande Art Museum New Season Opens October 16th

by David Fitzgibbons III

Carl D. Clapp BIO Carl D. Clapp, a third generation Arizonan, lives in Casa Grande, Arizona. For almost 50 years he has farmed land originally belonging to his wife’s family. During those years, in off-time, he has practiced his art. His acrylic paintings, drawings in pen and ink and straightlined drawings in pencil enhance patrons’ walls all over the world.

Sales of his prints have brought in monies for the Cotton Women Association and the Calcott scholarships. Magazines like Farm Journal, newspapers like The Casa Grande Dispatch and The Arizona Republic and state television programs have praised his agricultural art. As an artist he paints anything that attracts his attention – from working cowboys to cotton, from portraits to landscapes. The Rex Allen Museum in Clapp’s hometown of Willcox, AZ honors local cowboys. Paintings of thirteen old-timers hanging in the museum demonstrate Clapp’s unique skills as a portrait artist.

Pam, Carl’s wife, his sons, Chad and Cade and their families support his art activities like the show at the late Ted DeGrazia’s Little Gallery in Tucson, AZ. In semi-retirement, ag artist Carl has expanded his “rural realism” print sales and donated many prints to auctions for worthy projects like the Humane Society.

For more information on Carl Clapp, please call 520-705-1711.

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

T

he Casa Grande Art Museum is housed at 319 W. Third Street, on the corner of Maricopa and Third Street in Casa Grande. The house, built in 1929 by Gus Kratzka, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The building has a rusticated concrete exterior and includes several features that made the summer heat more bearable for the retired baker and his wife. The house was purchased and opened as the Casa Grande Art Museum by The Friends of the Arts, Inc., in 1987. The Friends of the Arts have lovingly restored the house to its present condition.

The Friends of the Arts, Inc. had its first meeting in October, 1986, when it elected its founding officers of Gary Kehias, Treasurer; Kay Benedict, Secretary; Nancy McEvoy, Vice-President; and Tom Cole, President. After purchasing the Kratzka house, the board went about its principal mission: to provide the citizens of central Arizona with the opportunity to enjoy a diverse selection of quality art in a setting that is conducive to its viewing with educational opportunities for all ages, young and old alike, so that everyone has the opportunity to view and appreciate the arts. Since the first show at the Casa Grande Art Museum, hundreds of exhibits have been held at the Museum over the years, including Carl Clapp, Paul Modlin, Judy Walsh, Mike Chiago and Mark White.

In addition, The Friends of the Arts has accumulated its own impressive art collection. This year, to reopen and begin its annual season on October 16, 2015, the Museum will welcome back local favorite Carl Clapp to the Museum for a show. Beginning then, the museum will be open on Wednesdays through Saturdays, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

This year marks the 29th anniversary of the creation of the Casa Grande Art Museum. With the Great Recession, our museum struggled mightily over the last few years. Seven years ago, we lost our major source of funding from the State of Arizona LTAF Grants. That, coupled with shrinking donations from corporations and the private sector, compounded the financial problems at the museum. For the last few years, the museum’s exclusive source of funds to operate came from private memberships, donations and gifts.

Despite the financial hardships, the museum board has maintained their policy of not charging fees to visitors so that their art exhibits are available to everyone.

The board of directors of the museum seeks to renew, reinvent, restructure and reinvigorate the Casa Grande Art Museum by soliciting funds so it can again be the focal point for culture in our city and county. Anyone interested in volunteering or making a donation to support the arts in Casa Grande and, specifically, the museum, should contact David A. Fitzgibbons III at david@fitzgibbonslaw. com or Dan Mace at danm@hhcpa.com; call Regis Sommers at (520) 836-0237; or write to the board at P.O. Box 11543, Casa Grande, AZ 85130.

Since the first show at the Casa Grande Art Museum, hundreds of exhibits have been held at the Museum over the years, including Carl Clapp, Paul Modlin, Judy Walsh, Mike Chiago and Mark White.

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Casa Grande Library

Thought is the wind, knowledge is the sail and mankind is the vessel – August Hale

by Miss Dee Dee Davis, Adult Services Librarian Casa Grande Library

M

The library is in the service of hope. Our mission is to bring enrichment, enjoyment, and education to the population of Casa Grande.

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any men have stood upon the shore staring at the wide expanse of sea in wonder. Questioning what lies beyond the horizon, where the dark blue waters meet the sky. Is life better out there on waves unknown? Are there untold riches on some distant land? Few determined souls actually set sail to find out. Those who do are leaders among men.

Antoine Saint-Exupery once said “If you want to build a ship, do not drum up the men to go gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” So it is with leadership; to inspire, lead the change and follow through. Not to tell others what to do, but make them want to do it on their own.

The whole town of Casa Grande was built on someone’s inspiration. Many people looked around at the acres of dust, dirt, and dying shrubs and considered the blazing heat, wrinkling their nose in disgust and wondering how on earth anyone would live here. Yet a few people came to this area and did not see the desolate landscape for what it was, but for all the possibilities of the town it could be. Those are the sailors navigating wondrous opportunity.

The library leads with the same the pioneering spirit. Our purpose is to encourage our population to change their lives for the better, which, in turn, positively affects our community. The library provides materials to expand the imagination, programs for various ages, and classes for all perspectives. We have puppet shows and tea parties, costumed fetes and scintillating book discussions. A person can take a class to hone practical skills in technology or to learn English.

Soon people will be able to design and create an original masterpiece in the new MakerSpace. We take pride and delight in inspiring our citizens to be their best by opening their eyes to capture the wonder and awe of the world. In essence, we hope to encourage others to live their dreams and sustain the joy that comes to them from achieving it.

As a result of their operational philosophy, libraries are sometimes referred to as the “poor man’s college,” as a central tenet of any public library is self-directed education.

Many may exclaim libraries are on the road to demise in this age of the Internet and Wi-Fi. Contrary to popular belief, not everything is online. Public internet access is just one of the many services we provide, free of charge. The library enriches the quality of life for those who cannot or choose not to pay for certain services or materials, but continue to yearn for distant shores full of possibilities.

It is imperative that, as a leader in the community, the library continues to bring in new and inventive resources and services. Casa Grande residents, particularly our youth, should not be limited because they live outside major metropolitan areas. In our new MakerSpace, community members will be exposed to creative tools that otherwise would

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Wanderer above the Sea of Fog be unavailable to them.

In fact, as a smaller town, our residents need the library more. They need to believe there is more beyond the horizon, things will get better, and they can conquer the world!

Of course we also hope they come back to visit, share their journeys, their knowledge, and reinvest in the community with their newfound talent and sharpened skills.

Like many leaders, the library is not flashy and ostentatious. Rather we are quietly changing lives from day to day. Some leaders deal with the finite, but the library deals with the infinite. We operate with possibilities and endless opportunities. We supply the tangible, such as books and DVDs; as well as the intangibles like our multitude of free programs which often times create lasting friendships.

The library is in the service of hope. Our mission is to bring enrichment, enjoyment, and education to the population of Casa Grande. Our employees inspire library users and build upon each other’s great ideas. We are a crew whose individuals balance each other’s strength and weaknesses.

We will help patrons rise to the challenge and surmount any obstacles in their way, because together we can. We do it for you, the City of Casa Grande. We serve you.

This is your library, your ship on that tumultuous sea. We hope to lead you to that spark. It might come of a Tuesday or happen on a random Wednesday. Epiphanies, insight, realization, and inspiration can strike at any time. The library provides the impetus to get those juices flowing and equip you with all you need. The rest is up to you. We invite you to take up the quest and journey out on waves unknown.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

INTELLIGENTLY!

Page Article Library Creative Writing Contest

Fathead & Otis

by Empress Urquides

O

tis became my puppy on Christmas. My dog ran away and I needed a companion. I bought him for myself as a Christmas present.

Otis is a pug. He can give me his paw, and sit, and stay. He takes walks with me while I ride my bike.

At first Otis was very shy and he would squirm at every sudden move I made. He appeared to have been abused as scared as he was of me.

Little by little, I got him used to me and he even gained weight while under my care.

I had Otis for approximately two months when I was given a Pitbull-mix named Fathead.

I was not sure if he would be a good dog for me since I was scared of Pitbulls and I didn’t know he would get along with a pug. Fathead and Otis have become best buddies. They play together, and even sleep together. Fathead finds whatever he can around the yard and carries it to Otis, since he is usually tied up. They play tugof-war with whatever Fathead finds. They make a big mess for me to clean up.

The way I see it, all three of us needed one another. Now we’ve all become good friends.

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Fathead looks scary so he keeps us safe, and Otis is very playful which brings us excitement. I think I made a good decision of keeping them both.

Have your child stop by the Vista Grande Library in Casa Grande to enter the Golden Corridor LIVING essay contest!

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

DON’T MISS OUT! 836-2100 Help Your Communityy REPORT CRIME

Tuesday, September 29 • 5:30-9pm

E FREsion! is Adm

Vista Grande High School 1556 N. Arizola Rd., Casa Grande

• Noel Kirkland Band Playing Live • Interact With Local Law Enforcement • Demonstrations Games • Activities • Prizes • Giveaways • Food •G

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Casa Grande Animal Care & Adoption Center Will have some furry friends available for adoption.

HIGH GRADE RENTALS & SALES

AIR EVAC Lorrie Carter

For More Information Contact Wendy Lloyd (520) 421-8711 ext. 6140

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Manager | NMLS #177235 1-1171 ▲ Cell: (480) 221-9826

Da w n S v o bo da en Road, Ste 104, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 Branch Manager

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Branch Manager | NMLS #177235 Da w n S v o bo da (520) 421-1171 ▲ Cell: (480) 221-9826 Branch Manager | NMLS #177235 | NMLS #177235

442 W Kortsen Ste221-9826 104, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 (520) 421-1171 ▲ Cell:Road, (480) da@AcademyMortgage.com Da w n421-1171 S v o bo da (520) ▲ Cell: (480)442221-9826 W Kortsendawn.svoboda@AcademyMortgage.com Road, Ste 104, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 www.AcademyMortgage.com/dawnsvoboda myMortgage.com/dawnsvoboda Branch Manager | NMLS #177235dawn.svoboda@AcademyMortgage.com 442 W Kortsen Road, Ste 104, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 www.AcademyMortgage.com/dawnsvoboda AZ 0913936

AZ 0913936 Co r p NMLS #3113 | Corp State Lic AZ #BK-0904081 (520) 421-1171 ▲ Cell: (480) 221-9826 dawn.svoboda@AcademyMortgage.com Co r p NMLS #3113 | Corp State Lic AZ #BK-0904081

www.AcademyMortgage.com/dawnsvoboda Kortsen Road, Ste 104, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 #3113 | Corp State442 LicWAZ #BK-0904081

dawn.svoboda@AcademyMortgage.com AZ 0913936 www.AcademyMortgage.com/dawnsvoboda Co r p NMLS #3113 | Corp State Lic AZ #BK-0904081 AZ 0913936 Co r p NMLS #3113 | Corp State Lic AZ #BK-0904081

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